


Repair and Service

by rosensilence



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Armitage Hux Has Feelings, Blow Jobs, Enemies to Lovers, Hux plays detective, Kylo Ren Being a Little Shit, Kylo Ren Has Issues, Kylo Ren Throws A Tantrum, Kylo Ren is Matt the Radar Technician, M/M, Sarcasm, Secret Identity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-22
Updated: 2019-11-22
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:53:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 31,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21526297
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosensilence/pseuds/rosensilence
Summary: Armitage Hux hates Kylo Ren.  He hates his temper tantrums, how he terrorizes the crew of The Finalizer and his very existence.  Hux doesn't hate Matt the Radar Technician, and finds himself strangely drawn to the tech that is always clearing up Ren's mess.  However, he starts to realize that all is not what it seems where Matt is concerned...
Relationships: Armitage Hux/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Armitage Hux/Kylo Ren
Comments: 52
Kudos: 400
Collections: Kylux Big Bang 2019





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> original prompt by missionfailure
> 
> art by the lovely [Squire](https://sinningsquire.tumblr.com/)

It was the start of the night shift on the Finalizer. As General Armitage Hux left the ship’s bridge, he knew that he would have an inbox full of daily reports waiting for him within the hour. The halls were full of officers and Stormtroopers moving from one position to the next—their allocated duties memorized from a schedule that ensured everything moved like clockwork. The Finalizer—his ship—was organized and efficient, from the mouse droids that scampered around his feet, to the cadets in training and the officers that stood by to punish them.

Hux loved order and discipline. He thrived on it. He had brought order to his ship and he worked everyday to bring the same level of order to the galaxy. There was no place for chaos or spontaneity in his world, and he had made it his life’s purpose to eradicate the disorder sowed by the Republic and the illusion of free will that they peddled to the masses.

There was no free will; only order. The First Order.

According to the schedule that Hux had personally set for himself, this should have been the start of his rest shift. He had planned to peruse the daily reports with a cup of tarine tea in hand before retiring for his standard six hours of sleep. However, no matter how hard Hux tried to eliminate disorder from the galaxy, he could never quite succeed.

His datapad beeped as he swiftly made his way to the hangars. The beeps were the notifications of the daily reports being received and he counted them under his breath, smugly satisfied when the seventeenth and final beep sounded just as he had reached the hangar bay he was looking for. The reports were all on time—just as they should be. 

The bay should have been empty and quiet. There were no transports scheduled to depart for, or arrive from, the planet that was slowly being turned into Starkiller Base, and no TIE pilot training maneuvers planned for the rest of the cycle. Any flight plans had to be approved by Hux personally, but the two transports that were steadily filling with Stormtroopers and preparing to leave had not been authorized. There was only one reason why a platoon of Stormtroopers would be preparing to ship out without Hux’s knowledge, and that reason was pacing around the hangar in a swirl of heavy black robes. 

Kylo Ren had been the architect of Hux’s nightmares since he’d been stationed on the Finalizer three years ago. At first, Hux had been pleased with the arrangement. Ren was Snoke’s prized apprentice, and Hux had seen his ship being chosen as Ren’s base as a vote of confidence from the Supreme Leader. His pleasure at being trusted with Ren had quickly disappeared as his previously perfectly ordered ship had been thrown into turmoil by Ren’s complete disregard for rules and regulations.

Hux could control every aspect of life on the Finalizer, but he couldn’t control Kylo Ren.

“Ren! What is the meaning of all of this? Where are you taking those Stormtroopers?”

“General.” Ren stopped his pacing and turned to face Hux. “I have an important mission to complete.”

“I haven’t been notified of any mission.”

“It came directly from the Supreme Leader,” Kylo said. “Maybe he didn’t deem you important enough to know about it.”

Hux wanted nothing more than to slap the bucket from Ren’s head. “An oversight, I’m sure. You can’t just take a platoon of Stormtroopers without informing me. There should be a flight plan, an estimated return date—”

“Such things are of no concern to me.”

Hux watched as the platoon’s commander ran past, pausing only to salute his general before ushering more Stormtroopers onto the transport. “They should be, Ren. If you had taken the time to read the already scheduled flight plans, you would have noticed that this platoon is shipping out to Starkiller Base in two days time. They’re not available for your little,” Hux paused, “ _whims_.”

“The orders of the Supreme Leader are not _whims_. If your troops are as well-trained as you always say they are, then two days will be more than sufficient for this mission.”

Hux knew that his Stormtroopers could carry out any reasonable task that they were ordered to, but he also knew that Kylo Ren’s definition of reasonable was very different to his own. The last time Ren had left the Finalizer on a short mission he hadn’t returned for two months. Hux couldn’t spare this platoon, one of his best, for that long. The construction of Starkiller Base had hit a delicate stage and needed as much manpower as possible.

“You’re not taking this platoon.” 

“You cannot stop me, General.”

Ren cocked his head to the side. Hux had seen the gesture enough times to know that it was a sign of Ren’s agitation, but he refused to back down. “Like kriff I can’t.”

Hux turned away from Ren and addressed the Stormtroopers. “Stand down, platoon. Return to your barracks. You will be shipping out to Starkiller Base in two days time as previously arranged. You will not be leaving tonight.”

The relief from the Stormtroopers that they wouldn’t be leaving with Ren was so obvious that even someone as Force-null as Hux could feel it. He watched for a few moments as supplies began to be unloaded from the transport, took a deep breath and turned back around to face Ren.

“I will arrange for some Stormtroopers to accompany you on whatever this pointless mission is, but it will be a platoon of my choice. They will be ready within twenty-four hours.”

Ren took a step closer. Hux could hear Ren’s rapid and angry breaths leaking through the vocoder in his helmet and defiantly glared at the black emptiness that covered Ren’s eyes. Hux had never seen Ren’s face, and not for the first time Hux wondered exactly what that helmet covered. Ren enjoyed the fear he evoked from everyone on the Finalizer, but Hux refused to be intimidated by the unknown and give him that satisfaction.

“My mission is not pointless. You play with your toys of war, General, but they are nothing compared to my mission.”

Ren was so close now that Hux thought he could feel the edge of Ren’s hood brushing against his hair. “Oh yes, the search for Skywalker. And how is that going exactly? While you’re chasing rumors and myths, I’m preparing to change the galaxy.”

“This is the last time that you’ll undermine me, General. Now, don’t you have some Stormtroopers to organize?”

Hux turned around and strode away from Ren with his head held high. Maybe it was petty of him, but putting Ren in his place always made Hux’s steps that little bit lighter. Ren might have the Force and the ear of the Supreme Leader, but he didn’t know how to play the game like Hux did. Hux had scratched and crawled his way to the top of the First Order and had pushed down officers that had decades of politicking behind them. Ren was an amateur compared to the Imperial vipers that had tried to strike Hux down, only to later become his subordinates.

Hux walked out of the hangar with a sly smile on his face as he heard the distinct sound of a lightsaber being ignited and equipment being destroyed. He would deal with the price of the damage later; for now, he would revel in another victory over Kylo Ren.

**

Hux’s off-cycle was—Kylo Ren aside—uneventful. The daily reports had all been in order and Hux had been able to retire at a reasonable hour and have a peaceful six hours of sleep. He looked over the agenda for the upcoming day while sipping on his first cup of tea and then dressed, ensuring his uniform was perfect and that not a single hair was out of place. Hux took pride in his appearance and his uniform; it was proof of his station and everything he had worked for.

He was straightening his leather gloves when he remembered the end of the previous night’s incident with Kylo Ren. He picked up his datapad and quickly navigated through the data network he’d designed until he found the folder labelled ‘Damage Reports.’ Only one had been submitted in the last twenty-four hours and Hux’s suspicions were confirmed when he opened it and saw that it was for the same hangar he’d left Ren raging in several hours earlier. The listed damage wasn’t too extensive, thankfully. It appeared to have been one of Ren’s lighter tantrums, but Hux wanted to confirm the details for himself. He had enough time to assess the damage before he was due to take over command, so after one last glance in the mirror to ensure everything was perfect he headed for the hangar bays.

Cleaning up after Ren was something that Hux was unfortunately becoming accustomed to. Hux had never known a creature as impulsive as Ren, or one that always seemed to be only a heartbeat away from exploding and destroying everything in sight. Hux had learned at an early age to control his own emotions—Brendol’s hand had seen to that—and a military life had only further drilled the importance of discipline into him. They were lessons and a lifestyle that Ren had obviously missed out on.

Hux knew nothing about Ren’s background. He didn’t even know if the body underneath the dramatic robes and helmet was human or not. He’d never seen Ren eat or sleep, and didn’t know of anybody within the First Order who had seen even an inch of Ren’s skin. Even his medical and personnel files—things usually easily accessible for a general—were classified beyond Hux’s reach. Snoke had never been forthcoming with information about his apprentice either and Hux knew better than to ask.

When Ren had first stepped foot on the Finalizer, Hux had been fascinated by him. The young Hux had heard stories of Sith lords and Jedis, of Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker, but even the innocent child he had been then hadn’t had the imagination to fully believe the stories. His contact with Snoke had been through hologram only, so Ren was the first Force user that Hux had ever met in the flesh.

He’d wanted to learn everything about the Force that he could. He wanted to know how it worked, to break it down into its components and remodel it into something that the First Order could use to defeat their enemies. Long before the final plans for Starkiller Base had been finalized, Hux had wondered if the Force could be harnessed in some way to power a weapon, and he had hoped that Ren could answer his questions. Maybe they could even work together to bring the Republic to its knees.

Ren had no interest in Hux’s questions. He didn’t seem to care about the First Order’s wider purpose either—only his own mission and goals. It was hardly surprising that they’d argued from the start. Hux’s interest in Ren had turned from being someone he could work with to being someone he wanted to ruin and defeat. 

It was near impossible to defeat someone when you knew nothing about them, however.

The hangar bay was thankfully silent when Hux reached it. There were no transports waiting, no Stormtroopers running past and no headaches in black robes marching around. The hangar was completely empty other than for a lone technician that was fixing one of the many consoles that lined the hangar walls and that was the only lasting sign of Kylo Ren’s temper tantrum. The damage report that was still open on Hux’s datapad had listed damage to three consoles, but it seemed that the technician had already managed to repair two of them. Considering the finer details of the damage, that was impressively fast.

The technician was kneeling on the floor, his head tucked underneath a ledge as his tools lay scattered around him. Hux frowned slightly at the mess the tools made—there was a perfectly serviceable tool box sitting empty that the technician should have been using—but he decided to let the disorder pass. If the chaos helped the technician with his work, then Hux would bite his tongue. This time.

“Good work, technician.” Hux was a demanding general, but he was also a general that praised good work when it deserved it.

Hux winced in sympathy when the technician jumped at the sound of his voice and loudly banged his head on the ledge he was kneeling beneath. The technician cursed in a guttural language that Hux didn’t recognize but he didn’t seem to be seriously hurt by the accident. He carefully crawled out from underneath the console and sat back on his heels before gingerly touching his scalp through his dirty blond hair. He didn’t seem badly injured at all, thankfully.

“You should get your head checked by a medical droid.”

The technician glanced up at Hux, his eyes widening behind his unflattering glasses before he quickly ducked his head and fixed his gaze on the floor. Hux didn’t recall seeing this technician before and he wasn’t used to them being as skittish as this one. In his experience, technicians would confidently breeze into any room on the ship, swallow up any praise given and then stride back out again.

“S’okay,” the technician mumbled. He lowered his head even more, blocking his face from Hux’s eyes until all Hux could see was his unruly excuse for hair. “I need to finish this.”

Hux again appraised the work the technician had already done. “That shouldn’t take much longer if you continue at the same pace. Very well, technician. Carry on.”

“Yes, General.”

Hux watched as the technician got on his hands and knees and crawled back underneath the console. The space looked too small for him to work comfortably, but somehow he managed it. Hux allowed himself one look at how the unflattering gray jumpsuit stretched over the technician’s ass—an indulgence that he never could quite stop himself from luxuriating in—and headed to the bridge, ready to begin his day.

**

Ren and the platoon of newly qualified Stormtroopers that Hux personally picked for him left the Finalizer four hours into Hux’s shift. Although he had more pressing things to deal with—Starkiller Base reports and pointless messages from infuriating captains of other ships in the First Order fleet to name just a few—Hux kept a close eye on Ren’s departure. He triple checked the departure forms submitted by the pilots of the trooper’s transporter and Ren’s own command ship, he carefully read through the ships manifest to ensure Ren hadn’t taken anything he shouldn’t and breathed a heavy sigh of relief when Ren was finally on his way and thankfully, no longer Hux’s problem.

Without Ren and his permanent bad mood and sense of entitlement on the ship, Hux found that the days flew by in a pleasant mist of peace and calm. He still had to deal with a few emergencies and a minor planet revolt when a group of quintessence harvesters tried to overthrow the officers he’d installed there to oversee their work, but even when faced with potentially dangerous riots, Hux felt composed. Uprisings, he could handle. He might lose a few Stormtroopers along the way or have to order a few executions, but he knew he would be able to quash any pitiful rebellion.

Kylo Ren was not as easy controlled. Only Snoke knew how to manage Ren and Hux wasn’t going to embarrass and demean himself by asking the Supreme Leader for some tips.

The rest of the ship and crew seemed to run smoother without Ren’s presence, too. Every being on the ship, from droid to officer, from Stormtrooper to technician, breathed easier without the possibility of Ren breathing down their necks. Most of the time Ren was a rancor in a cantina—a raging beast that you heard coming before you saw. The heavy and slightly lopsided echo of his footsteps would ring around the halls of the Finalizer, warning everyone to move out of his way.

But there were times when Ren would move so silently and fade into the background that nobody would ever notice his arrival. Hux had lost count of the number of times he’d turned around only to find Ren a mere footstep behind, his head tilted to the side as if Hux was the subject of an experiment he was studying. Of all of Kylo Ren’s quirks, it was his tendency to become a shadow that annoyed Hux the most.

The peace lasted for three weeks. 

Hux was on the bridge and overlooking the always exemplarily Stormtrooper reports that Captain Phasma completed each week. Looking at the progress of his troops was one of the genuine pleasures of Hux’s job. It was his ideas that had turned the inadequate Imperial Stormtrooper training program into the far more efficient and successful First Order one, and seeing how each individual trooper’s scores increased week after week filled him with pride. Hux was so preoccupied with his satisfaction at the increase in the scores of one particular cadet—designation FN-2187—that he didn’t immediately notice the return of Kylo Ren.

It was the unmistakable sound of Ren’s lightsaber being ignited that caught Hux’s attention. Hux had never heard the hum of a lightsaber before, but he found it hard to believe that the lightsabers belonging to the Jedi of the myths or even Lord Vader sounded so sickly. Ren’s lightsaber vibrated with a noise that sounded diseased and ready to explode at any moment. Much like Kylo Ren himself.

He put his datapad down and braced himself for the oncoming storm. “I see you’ve returned in one piece, Ren. Was your mission successful?”

“No. Once again, your information officers and spies provided false information.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Hux said disingenuously. “I do hope the mission wasn’t a complete waste of your time.”

There was a crackle from Ren’s mask that might have been a sarcastic laugh or an angry grunt—it was impossible to tell. “There was no sign of Skywalker. That planet has never seen a Force user.”

The search for Luke Skywalker. Hux barely managed to refrain from rolling his eyes. Both Ren and the Supreme Leader were obsessed with finding that dusty old Jedi. Hux doubted that he even existed and saw the search as a pointless distraction. The First Order’s entire focus should be on Starkiller Base; not chasing legends and fairy tales.

“You can sense other Force users?”

“I can sense many people, General,” Ren said, his grip tightening on his lightsaber. “If the Force has awoken in someone, I will know about it.”

“A useful skill.” Hux made a mental note. He hated to admit that Ren could ever be of use, but he had to concede that skill could prove useful in the future. He didn’t make a habit of praising Ren for anything and had to quickly follow it with a criticism just to bring balance back to the world. “I see that you didn’t submit any reports during your mission. I would appreciate being kept informed about the performance of my Stormtroopers.”

“You gave me a platoon of untested Stormtroopers that were more of a hindrance than a support,” Ren spat. “You should be grateful that I didn’t kill them all.”

“Does that mean that you killed some of them?”

Ren didn’t answer. He didn’t move, either. He just stood there, as still and unyielding as the statues Hux remembered from his childhood at the academy on Arkanis. The lightsaber still crackled with energy and potential destruction; its presence a constant warning that even if Ren seemed calm he was still a thermal detonator that was waiting to explode.

“How many did you kill?”

“Just the ones that got in my way.”

Hux recited the names of every First Order capital ship in his head until he felt his nerves calm. As much as he wanted to explode in anger at Ren, he would never allow himself to do so. Unrestrained and dramatic anger was one of Ren’s trademarks—Hux refused to stoop to his level. He was better than that.

He was better than Ren.

“Stormtroopers are assets of the First Order and they’re expensive ones, Ren. You can’t kill a few purely because they ‘got in your way.’”

“They ruined my mission.”

“Your mission to find Skywalker? Wasn’t that ruined the moment you set foot on a planet he’d never been to? Don’t blame my Stormtroopers for your failings, Ren.”

Hux had been expecting violence from Ren since the second he’d heard his lightsaber ignite, but he still jumped at the speed and power with which Ren sliced through the console closest to him. Sparks and debris flew through the air from the destruction of the console sending the other officers near it running, while the officers further away turned their backs and tried to ignore Ren’s outburst.

Hux did neither of those things. He didn’t run nor turn away; he stood his ground. He remained still, patiently waiting for Ren to stop hacking at the console, and then waited again for Ren’s anger to dissipate. Eventually it did. Ren’s upper body ceased shaking and he finally—thankfully—switched off his lightsaber.

“Satisfied?” Hux asked, the single word dripping with ice and apathy. If Ren was after attention or condemnation, then Hux would give him neither.

“If your Stormtroopers fail me again, I will destroy every last one of them and replace them with clones.”

Before Hux had a chance to reply, Ren turned on his heels and stormed off the bridge, sending officers and mouse droids scattering in his wake.

Hux was seething. How dare Ren destroy Hux’s bridge and threaten his Stormtroopers! And to do so in front of Hux’s most trusted officers? Unacceptable! He could feel the eyes of his officers burning into him, waiting for his reaction to Ren’s outburst.

Hux wouldn't give Ren, or anyone else, the satisfaction of seeing how rattled he was. Ren had this innate ability to get under his skin like nobody else could. When the old Imperial officers rolled their eyes at him when they thought he couldn't see them, or they plotted his demise in secret meetings they thought he didn't know about, he didn't care. Let them scheme—he would outlast them all.

But Ren—

Hux screwed his hands up into tight fists until he could feel the blunt edges of his nails digging into his palm despite the leather gloves he wore. He was General Hux. A role model and leader for everyone in the First Order. He had an image of professionalism and dependability to live up to. His officers counted on him to be the rock upon which the First Order was anchored.

Hux pushed his frustration and anger down into a ball and locked it away. He picked up his datapad and—as calmly as he could—walked over to Mitaka and started to run through the cargo shipments for the week ahead. He wouldn’t think of Kylo Ren again—he had work to do.

**

Hux and Mitaka had just finished running through the shipments—and the console barely ceased smouldering—when the technician came to repair it. Hux had completely forgotten to send a damage report for it, but was pleased to see that another officer on the bridge must have taken the initiative and reported it for him. It was uncharacteristic of him to forget something as straightforward and common as a damage report though. Or any other necessary reports, for that matter. He was far too conscientious to usually let routine matters like that slip his mind.

Yet another sign of how much Kylo Ren affected him.

The technician was the same dirty blond that had fixed the consoles in the hangar after Ren’s last fit of anger. Hux didn’t usually pay too much attention to the various technicians and support staff that worked on the Finalizer. They were important parts of the crew, but Hux had always been more concerned with his officers and his Stormtroopers. It was near impossible to ignore this technician, however.

The first thing Hux noticed was just how tall the man was. The first time he’d met the technician he’d been kneeling on the floor, but now that he was standing Hux was surprised by the sheer bulk of him. Technicians were usually skinny little creatures, built for crawling under spaces and contorting themselves into small gaps in order to fix whatever needed to be repaired. They were the adults that had flunked out of the Stormtrooper program as kids for not being strong enough. Hux found it difficult to believe that this technician had suffered that fate. The gray jumpsuits that all of the technicians wore were unflattering and plain, but it did nothing to hide the width of this technician’s shoulders or the thickness of his thighs.

The technician kept his head down as he headed towards the console. There was an awkwardness to his movements, but he was able to quietly slip by all of the officers on the bridge without drawing any attention to himself. Hux was watching though—he couldn’t help himself.

Protocol dictated that the technician should address either the creator of the damage report or the highest ranking officer present, but the technician did neither. He placed his toolbox on the floor next to the damaged console, dropped to his knees, and immediately set to work.

The breach of protocol and the disrespect shown should have angered Hux. It usually would have. He had reprimanded and punished many members of the First Order for far less. This time, however, Hux let it pass. The technician intrigued him for reasons he couldn’t quite define yet, so he allowed the technician to continue with the repairs while he covertly watched him over the top of his datapad.

The console that Ren had damaged was one of the newer models. It was sturdier than its predecessors and was made out of a durasteel alloy that wouldn’t completely buckle—not even under the power of the bad-tempered, bane of Hux’s existence and his lightsaber. Ren had destroyed these consoles in the past, but it had taken more lightsaber strikes than he had inflicted on this one. Although it hadn’t seemed so at the time, Ren had been reasonably restrained.

The technician definitely knew what he was doing. He took apart the console with little effort and quickly identified what parts of the inner workings were salvageable and which were beyond saving. There wasn’t much finesse to the way the technician was pulling out wires and components and dumping them across the floor, but he was methodical and obviously skilled at his job.

Before Hux knew exactly what he was doing, he’d taken a few steps to his right and was standing directly beside the technician. The shiny toes of his boots were mere inches from the technician’s knees and he looked down his fine nose at the mess of blond hair that continued to work. The technician knew someone was there though—Hux had no doubt of that. He’d seen the way the technician’s posture had stiffened slightly when Hux had approached and had expected to be greeted immediately by his junior employee.

Hux didn’t appreciate being ignored, no matter how skilled the technician was. 

“Technician,” Hux said, his crisp accent adding extra bite to the syllables, “report.”

The technician pulled out one more component, dropped it onto the pile and then sat back on his heels. He looked up at Hux from behind his big, round glasses and Hux found that he liked the view. He always liked to see strong men on their knees, both literally and figuratively.

“Report?”

The technician sounded genuinely puzzled. He may have been good at his job, but he didn’t appear to be the brightest. “Report on the condition of the console.”

“Oh. I can fix it.”

Now that he was closer, Hux could see the damage for himself. The shell of the console was still standing—albeit with a few extra lightsaber shaped grooves cut into it—but the insides had been torn apart by the technician’s skilled hands. The pile of damaged components was piled higher than a BB unit and there were few parts left intact inside.

“I’m sure you can, but this looks like more than minor damage to me. Would it not be more efficient to replace the console?”

“I can fix it,” the technician repeated firmly.

“You’re the technician,” Hux began, pausing to look at the name tag attached to the garish orange jacket the technician wore, “ _Matt_. Cleaning up after Kylo Ren seems to be a common occurrence for you, doesn’t it?”

Matt frowned. He had very mesmerizing lips, Hux thought. “It needs to be done.”

“Unfortunately, yes. There’s enough in need of repair and upgrade on this ship already without Ren adding to the tally.”

It was an offhand comment, borne out of the lingering frustration and anger that Hux hadn’t quite managed to bury underneath lists of cargo shipments. It was the type of comment that First Order officers knew to let pass as they shared Hux’s frustrations where Ren was concerned; they just didn’t have the courage—or rank—to express them. 

That unwritten rule had passed by this technician’s quarters.

“I don’t think Kylo Ren means to be so destructive.”

It was the longest sentence Hux had ever heard from Matt, and also the most surprising. Was he honestly defending Kylo Ren? Was he talking back to General Hux? “Careful, Matt, that you do not overstep your station.”

“Sorry.” Matt shuffled uncomfortably on his knees, and then quickly added, “ _sir_. I just think that it can’t be easy for Kylo Ren.”

“I—Excuse me?”

Matt was hesitant when he replied. “Dealing with the dark side of the Force, and the expectation and training from the Supreme Leader.” When Hux didn’t interrupt him, Matt continued with more confidence. “There’s a lot of pressure on him. He’s trying to find Luke Skywalker and lead the galaxy, while also studying this ancient power that nobody fully understands. The occasional damaged console is to be expected.”

Always so focused on the First Order and the First Order alone, Hux had never considered the other responsibilities that Kylo Ren had to deal with. It was true that Ren spent a lot of his time training under the Supreme Leader, and if his private meetings with Snoke were anything like Hux’s, then they were likely to be frustrating and painful in equal amounts. Hux didn’t understand Ren’s obsession with finding Skywalker—a futile search in his opinion—but he did know it was important to Ren.

Hux scowled at the technician that was still kneeling before him. He didn’t want to try to understand or empathize with Kylo Ren. Ren was a menace. Hux hated him. It was easier that way.

“I suggest that you cease defending Kylo Ren and finish your work.”

“Yes, sir.”

Hux remained on the bridge for a further ten minutes, but pointedly refused to watch the technician any longer. Matt’s words still echoed in his head, and they continued to do so throughout the Starkiller Base progress meeting he chaired immediately after. When Hux returned from the meeting two hours later, Matt was gone and the console was back in perfect working order.

**

As much as Hux appreciated those times where the Finalizer was a tranquil oasis of calm and order, he truly lived for the days when he could command a fight. Whether it was planning a takeover of a planet or scrambling fighters to take out the rogue pirates and gangsters that still occasionally tried to take the First Order on, destroying his enemies filled Hux with a satisfaction that nothing else could. It was where he excelled. 

One of the few pleasures of his childhood had been playing dejarik. His father had taught him—it was probably the only thing he had learned from the old bastard—and had drilled into the young Armitage that to understand dejarik was to understand military tactics. Anticipating your opponent’s moves. Putting your pieces into the right places. Knowing when to strategically retreat, and when to attack at full force. Keep a cool and calm head. Don’t telegraph your next move. Armitage had soaked up the advice like a sponge and worked hard on his dejarik technique. Brendol had regularly played the game with him, sneering at his mistakes and remaining silent at his good moves. 

Then Armitage finally won a game. Brendol never played a game with him again.

The General that Armitage had become approached a battle the same way the young Armitage had approached the dejarik board. It had won him every battle he’d been involved with since he’d graduated cadet school, and it wouldn’t let him down today.

The Finalizer had dropped out of hyperspace only fifty klicks away from a small group of Resistance ships. The Resistance had grown both in numbers and in confidence and whereas in months gone by they might have turned tail and ran, now the X-Wings that were guarding a Resistance transport were locking their foils into attack mode.

“Scramble three legions of fighters,” Hux quickly barked, “two to concentrate on the X-Wings and one to target the transport. Shields up and give them covering fire.”

The bridge exploded into a controlled flurry of action. Every officer knew their role and was equipped to carry it out with the expertise and professionalism that Hux expected from his staff. He watched with quiet satisfaction as the wall of monitors that lined the side of bridge began to light up as each TIE Fighter became airborne, their formations tight as they carried out the orders he’d bestowed on them only moments before.

It was quite beautiful, in its own way. The way the TIE Fighters moved across the scene in unison as the Resistance fighters scattered and lost their formation was poetry in motion. Hux could watch it for hours. Slowly, one by one, the lights that represented the Resistance ships flickered and disappeared. It was all proceeding as expected.

What Hux didn’t expect, however, was for a Resistance star cruiser to come out of hyperspace and launch reinforcements. Hux wasn’t aware that the Resistance even had any capital ships anymore, and he cursed under his breath when he recognized the Mon Calamari design and the danger it posed. 

Dejarik may have been like battle in so many ways, but in dejarik, your opponent couldn’t call surprise reinforcements. Hux should have been prepared for this.

The new Resistance fighters were of a different class to the ones the First Order had initially surprised. The Resistance was cobbled together from young and inexperienced reprobates, and battle hardened veterans—it was no doubt the veterans that were now cutting through the once unbeatable TIE Fighters.

“More fighters! Get all of them out there! Charge the ion cannons!”

There was a greater sense of urgency on the bridge for Hux’s second set of commands, just as there was more urgency in his voice. Due to construction on Starkiller Base, the Finalizer didn’t have its full complement of TIEs and Stormtroopers. Starkiller needed a never ending list of materials and so much of the First Order’s military was spread across planets in the Outer Rim in order to source what was needed. All recent intelligence suggested that the Resistance didn’t have enough firepower to worry about, so Hux had gladly deployed legion after legion to building Starkiller.

He was going to deal with the intelligence officers personally when this battle was finished.

Hux turned his attention back to the monitors. The Resistance were suffering heavy losses, but the First Order were losing more TIEs than Hux wanted to see. So many of his own pilots were untested in battle. The First Order training was exemplary—he had seen to that personally—but Hux knew that no amount of training and simulators could fully prepare a cadet for the real thing. 

Another TIE Fighter disappeared from the screen but suddenly, there was something else there. It was a First Order ship, but not one that was registered like the others and— 

_Ren_.

Hux and a small team of engineers had been working on a prototype fighter for the last couple of months. Codenamed the TIE Silencer, it was still being tested and improved. The Silencer was early enough in its development that it was still difficult to control, but it was also fast. Impossibly fast. There was only one person in the entire First Order hierarchy that had the skill and strength to successfully pilot it in its current state, and that was Kylo Ren. Ren had been surprisingly willing to test the Silencer, and even Hux had to admit that Ren’s feedback and reports had been invaluable in improving the fighter even more. Ren could be shockingly diligent when he wanted to be, and his detailed observations and suggestions for improvements had pushed the project further than even Hux had believed to be possible.

But now Ren was taking it out for a real test and Hux could barely watch. Months of research and development—and tonnes of precious materials—were wrapped up in the Silencer, and he was angry at Ren for putting it at risk before it had been cleared for battle. It was one thing for Ren to push it to its limits in an empty sky, but to do so in the middle of dozens of opposing fighters and the crossfire they produced was insanity.

Hux turned his back on the monitors and hurriedly strode over to the viewport that dominated the front of the bridge. It was more difficult to oversee the entire battle from here, but that wasn’t his concern anymore. He wanted to watch the Silencer in action, and no light on a monitor would be adequate enough for that.

Watching Ren fly was like watching the storms that blighted his native Arkanis. There was a natural poetry to it, to seeing Ren glide around TIE Fighters and chase down Resistance ships with as much ease and grace as the heavy rains that poured through every crack in the academy’s windows. It was also heart-stoppingly dangerous, just like the lightning strikes that had threatened to hit any cadet that didn’t finish their early morning run quickly enough. 

Ren was reckless but precise. He skirted close to danger but managed to avoid it every time. Hux watched in impressed silence as Ren shot X-Wing after B-Wing out of the sky and damaged countless more. Hux had never seen a pilot like him.

The momentum of the battle had turned in the First Order’s favor since Ren had taken to the skies and it was only a matter of time before the Resistance fighters began to back off and retreat. A few TIE Fighters tried to chase them back to the Mon Calamari star cruiser but Hux called them off and ordered them to return. The Resistance had suffered heavy losses—that was enough for now.

There was one X-Wing that was slow in turning back, however. Hux had overlooked it due to its custom black design and it appeared that Ren had too, as it was able to land one shot on the Silencer before making a swift turn that barely seemed possible and returning to safety aboard the star cruiser.

The once smooth glide of the Silencer had become jerky, and it was trailing heavy gray smoke behind it as Ren battled to get it back under control. It was heavily damaged—that much was clear—but Ren wasn’t about to let it crash and he managed to limp home to the Finalizer, almost taking out a couple of TIE Fighters that got in his way.

Hux waited around on the bridge long enough to get a full report of the battle (seven TIE Fighters lost and fifteen enemy ships shot down—nine of them by Ren) before heading to the hangars. It was good for morale for returning pilots to receive a few words of appreciation from their general, but that wasn’t Hux’s real reason for visiting them. He planned to visit the private hangar that housed the Silencer. He’d put too much of his precious time and effort into that ship to carry on with the rest of his shift without checking to see how much damage Ren had caused to it. Hopefully it was easily repairable. The lead engineer on the project had been redeployed to Starkiller Base and some of the materials used in its construction had become too integral to Starkiller to be spared for a pet project. If it was damaged too heavily, the whole project may have to be scrapped.

Hux was nearly at the main TIE Fighter hangar when he saw the unmistakable figure of Kylo Ren stalking down the hall. Other than for some dust and debris clinging to his robes, Ren looked the same as always and that relieved Hux’s worries slightly. If Ren had made it out of the Silencer unscathed, then it must have held together. Although, it would just be Hux’s luck for Ren to survive while the Silencer lay in a million pieces.

“Ren!” Hux called. There were a few Stormtroopers in the hallway and Hux chose to ignore how they all quickly disappeared when they realized that their co-commanders were about to argue in public again. “What were you thinking?! The Silencer hasn’t been cleared for battle! You could have destroyed all of our work and killed yourself in the process!”

Ren didn’t reply—he just continued walking down the hall and walked straight past Hux. Hux had no doubt that Ren had heard him as everyone else in the hallway had. He was being ignored, and if there was only one thing Hux hated, it was being ignored. If there were only two things he hated, then the second thing was Kylo Ren. “Ren! Answer me!”

“I won your battle for you. You’re welcome.”

Before Hux could answer, Ren had stepped into the turbolift at the end of the hallway and was gone.

Hux wanted to punch something. He wanted to scream his frustrations into the void and fill something—preferably Kylo Ren shaped—with blaster bolts. 

But he wouldn’t. He was a general of the First Order. He wasn’t an uncontrollable beast like Ren that immediately took his anger out on unsuspecting personnel and monitors. No, General Hux took his time and was patient. He took all of the anger that he felt and filed it away next to all of the other times Ren had pushed him too far. He’d get his revenge on Ren eventually, but it would be under his own terms.

For now, he had a Silencer to check.

**

Hux took longer than expected with the TIE Fighters and their pilots. For so many of the pilots it had been their first taste of real action, and even Hux couldn’t deny them the adrenaline fueled sense of accomplishment that they all felt. Hux had put so much of himself into the training programs—and into achieving better results than his father ever could—that he couldn’t help but feel an affinity for them. They were his troops; moulded into the perfect soldiers that he wanted them to be.

And they were succeeding.

After allowing himself to indulge in a few moments of satisfaction, he left the noisy pilots behind and headed further down the hallway. There were smaller hangars here, ones reserved for command ships and for the occasional guests that visited the Finalizer. He had a small ship himself, as did Ren, but the hangar he was looking for was one that only a limited number of people had access to. He took his code cylinder out of his pocket and used it to open the hangar door.

The TIE Silencer was docked in the middle of the hangar as it should be, but the damage it had sustained was obvious. Somehow, Ren had managed to crack the distinctive red transparisteel viewport, the laser cannons at the front of the ship were missing, and the upper right wing was bent at a weird angle and barely holding on. It was a sign of Ren’s flying expertise that he’d managed to get the Silencer back to the Finalizer at all—Hux had no doubt that every single one of the triumphant TIE Pilots he’d just spoken to would have crashed out of the sky.

It was—laser cannons aside—all in one piece, however. It may be a battered and twisted piece, but Hux was quietly confident that it could be repaired despite the shortage of materials and engineers that the Finalizer currently had. He needed to run a diagnostic to document the full extent of the damage before being certain, and he swiftly made his way past the side of the Silencer to the workstation by the hangar doors.

Hux was so distracted by the state of the Silencer, that he didn’t notice he wasn’t alone.

“General!”

It was that technician again. The tall one, with the dirty blond hair. Matt. He was stood in front of the cockpit and was taking apart and removing the solar energy collectors that covered the damaged wing. Panels were haphazardly lying across the hangar floor in no discernible system, and Hux wondered how a lowly technician like Matt had gained access to somewhere as highly restricted as the hangar they currently stood in.

“Matt. What are you doing here?”

Matt’s brows furrowed in confusion beneath his oversized glasses. “I’m fixing the ship,” he replied, waving a wrench as he spoke.

“I can see that,” Hux snapped. “How did you get access to this hangar? This is a highly secure area that you are not cleared to enter.”

Matt didn’t answer immediately. He opened his mouth as if he was going to speak, but appeared to reconsider and simply closed it again. He nervously shuffled on his feet and Hux was just about to call the security officers to deal with Matt’s trespass when the technician finally found his voice. “Kylo Ren.”

“What about Ren?”

“He, er, gave me access.”

Hux took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. Even when Ren wasn’t present, he was still the root cause of everything that went wrong or broke protocol. What was Ren thinking? He knew how sensitive the Silencer project was, yet he’d taken it out on an unsanctioned flight straight into a battle—nearly destroying the ship in the process—and now he’d let an unauthorized technician take a wrench to it.

“I know how to fix it!” Matt said quickly. Hux had always struggled with masking his displeasure when someone stepped out of line, and Matt had no doubt recognized the potential trouble he was in from the sneer on Hux’s lips. “It looks worse than it is. The transparisteel damage is superficial and the laser cannons can be easily replaced. Even this wing can be repaired.”

“You seem pretty sure of your diagnosis considering you’ve never seen this ship before.”

“The wings are based on the same design as the regular TIE Fighters,” Matt said, gaining confidence when Hux nodded in agreement instead of correcting him, “and Kylo Ren made a couple of suggestions when he asked me to fix it.”

“Did he?” Hux couldn’t hide the surprise in his voice. Ren was an expert in destroying things, but Hux had never considered him to be someone who could fix things, too.

“He really loves this ship.” Matt took a step closer to the undamaged wing and allowed his fingers to run across the smooth panelling. He had such big hands, Hux noticed. “He’s never flown anything like it. The things it can do— It’s amazing.”

“Ren said this to you?”

In the three years that Hux had known Kylo Ren, he’d never known the knight have a conversation with anyone. There had been plenty of arguments, impolite orders and inappropriate mockery from Ren, but never anything approaching a normal discussion. Even the meetings with his master Snoke that Hux had been present for—probably the only being Ren actually respected and listened to—couldn’t pass for a conversation, not with how condescending and belittling Snoke was to his apprentice. You didn’t talk to Snoke; you explained why you failed and begged for forgiveness. Hux knew that personally.

Ren actively avoided saying more than necessary. His orders were short and to the point with explanation kept to a minimum, if they were even present at all. So why had Ren complimented the Silencer to this lowly technician? Ren knew that Hux was the lead designer on the project, and the only communication they had about it was through Ren’s informative, but emotionless, reports. Hux didn’t appreciate receiving third hand compliments.

It suddenly hit Hux that out of everybody in the First Order, he had more contact with Kylo Ren than anybody else did. For some reason, the knowledge that this awkward technician had heard compliments that Ren refused to voice to him stung more than it should.

“He told me when he was telling me what to repair,” Matt explained. “You designed this, didn’t you? General,” he added, almost as an afterthought.

“I did.”

“And Starkiller Base?”

Hux nodded. He was proud of his achievements. Starkiller was something the galaxy had never seen before. The New Republic would fall in line with the First Order, or Starkiller would ensure that it no longer existed.

“They’re impressive designs. None of the other senior officers could design something like this,” Matt said. He walked back over to the damaged wing and deftly began to remove the last of the solar panels as he continued to speak. He certainly seemed to know what he was doing. “They’re all too lazy and stuck in the past.”

“Careful Matt, those are your superior officers that you’re talking about.”

“Maybe so, but you agree with me, don’t you? Sir.”

Hux did, of course. If he had his way he would execute every last one of the Imperial relics that had served alongside his father. They had no respect for him or for the mission of the First Order—they just wanted to relive past glories and protect themselves from the laws of the New Republic that would see them imprisoned for life for their part in the Empire. Snoke, however, thought that they still had some use. Hux disagreed, but he’d learned the hard way to not voice his disagreements with the Supreme Leader.

“You should watch your mouth, technician. It might get you in trouble.”

Matt shrugged his broad shoulders. “You’re not the first person to say that.”

Hux knew that he should head back to the bridge. Although he’d personally greeted the TIE pilots that had survived the battle, there would still be reports to read and repairs to authorize. He also had the small matter of dealing with the intelligence officers that had somehow managed to miss that the Resistance now had star cruisers in their arsenal. Despite the duties that were waiting for him, Hux wanted to stay a little longer. 

Matt was unlike any technician or junior officer that Hux had ever spoken to. He wasn’t intimidated by Hux’s rank—or seemingly by Kylo Ren either—and was more informed than his position in the First Order should have allowed him to be. Hux was aware that those that occupied the lower branches of the First Order hierarchy were prone to gossip, but it was highly unusual for anyone to repeat that gossip to a senior officer. 

He watched as Matt continued his work. Now that the solar panels had been removed, the technician was swiftly removing wires and durasteel components with only the occasional glance at the battered datapad that was precariously balanced on the damaged wing. The plans for the TIE Silencer had not been made public—not even for technicians—so he must have been working from TIE Fighter plans. He seemed to be just as precise and knowledgeable about ships as he was about consoles. That was unusual; First Order technicians usually specialized in only one field and the gray jumpsuit and bright orange jacket of Matt’s uniform showed that he wasn’t a ship technician.

“Did you learn to repair ships in the Order?”

Matt almost dropped his wrench at Hux’s question, but in a remarkable display of reflexes and dexterity, was able to catch it. “No. My father taught me.”

So, Matt wasn’t a child recruit then. That would explain why he wasn’t in the Stormtrooper program. “He must have been a good teacher. You’re very skilled.” Hux couldn’t tell for certain, but he was pretty sure that Matt was blushing. “The Order needs people like you.”

Matt stopped working and turned to face Hux, his hands still full of the parts that he was trying to replace. He looked stunned; like he’d never heard a compliment before in his life. He had a very unique face, with his long nose, big ears and the galaxy of moles that were scattered across his skin, but all of that paled next to the depth of his eyes. Hux couldn’t help but stare back even though the confused emotions in Matt’s eyes threatened to drag Hux down into the deep. The man should wear a mask instead of allowing his feelings to be displayed so vividly.

It made Hux uncomfortable.

“Thank you,” Matt said softly, finally breaking the awkward silence that had descended in the hangar. “Now that I can see the damage inside, I’m certain I can fix it.”

“Do you need any help?” The words were out of Hux’s mouth before he realized what he’d said, but now that the offer had been voiced he had no desire to take it back.

It had been a long time since he’d got his hands dirty and fixed something himself. Although he’d been highly involved in Starkiller Base and the Silencer itself, it had been purely as their architect. He had designed propulsion systems and energy storage, he’d made the Silencer faster and Starkiller Base more stable, but it had all been from his office with a datapad on his desk. His hands hadn’t been involved in their construction at all and although he took great pride in his General’s stripes, he missed the days at the academy when his spare time was filled with stripping old tech for parts and making something new and better.

“Don’t you have reports to read or orders to give out, General?”

He did. But they could wait. “Are you telling me how to do my own job, technician?”

“I— No, General.” Matt’s gaze fell to the components in his hands as he seemed to genuinely mull over Hux’s offer.

That he was thinking about whether to accept or not amused Hux. He was the highest ranking officer in the entire First Order; Matt had no choice but to accept unless he wanted to be court-martialed. The technician must have been aware of that, yet he was still acting as if he had any power or any options open to him. Hux knew that he should stop the illusion that Matt could deny his request, but he couldn’t. He wanted Matt to agree. Despite any sense of logic, Hux found himself liking the technician. 

Hux never liked anyone.

“Help would be good,” Matt said finally. 

Hux shrugged off his greatcoat and gently placed it across the workstation by the wall. His leather gloves weren’t made for engineering work so he removed those too before stepping between the wings of the Silencer and looking at the exposed inner workings of the damaged one. Now that he was closer, he could see that Matt was right; the damage wasn’t as serious as Hux had feared it was. He reached inside the wing and ran his fingers over a pump that Matt had yet to remove, moving slowly as he tried to feel any cracks in the material.

Matt was staring at his fingers in a way that made Hux shiver. “It’s not damaged. I checked earlier.”

Hux withdrew his hand. “Very well. You seem to have everything in hand, so why don’t you tell me what I should do?”

“Well, that solar panel over there,” Matt began hesitantly, as if he couldn’t quite believe that General Hux was seeking orders from him, “needs its wiring replacing. I have some similar plans on my datapad if you need them.”

“That won’t be necessary. I designed these solar panels,” Hux answered. Matt was holding out his datapad to Hux, but Hux’s attention was initially stolen by the bare fingers that held it tightly. Matt had remarkably clean and well-looked after hands for an engineer. “Is that a ZR-931 datapad? Those should have all been replaced and destroyed three months ago.”

“It still works.”

Hux didn’t need to check the solar panel to see what size of tools he needed to complete the re-wiring job; he knew all of the information off by heart. He quickly found the right tools in Matt’s messy toolbox and knelt beside the panel. “That datapad has security flaws. Make sure you speak to your commanding officer and get a new one immediately.”

Matt looked like he wanted to argue but he remained silent. He nodded once in agreement and then returned to his work, deftly unbolting a cracked inner panel and unceremoniously dropping it onto the floor with a loud clang that echoed around the hangar.

“Do you need to be so noisy?” Hux asked as he gently placed a damaged panel from his own repair onto the floor. 

“Sorry, General.” Matt looked sheepish as he followed Hux’s lead and placed the next part he removed onto the ground. “I’m not used to working with other people. I spend a lot of time alone.”

“I suppose that being a technician can be quite a solitary existence.”

“So can being a general.”

Hux paused, the pair of pliers he held remaining tightly clamped around a cracked wire but never closing to make the cut. Hux had lived a lonely existence. Whether it was his friendless early years, the competitive and hostile years at the academy or the cut-throat years in the First Order, he’d always been alone. He liked it that way; it was cleaner, less complicated. He couldn’t be betrayed or disappointed by anyone if there was nobody close enough to him. He’d never felt that his life was deficient in anyway for lacking in companionship and had never sought it out.

But somehow, hearing those words from Matt made him feel lonely for the first time in his thirty-two years of existence.

“Yes, it can,” Hux finally replied.

They fell into a comfortable silence after that, speaking only to talk about the repairs or to share tools. Hux lost track of time as they worked on fixing and putting the TIE Silencer back together, but they didn’t stop—not even for food or a refresher break—until it was back in one piece. It would need further testing of course before it was confirmed as being flightworthy, but as far as Hux was concerned it was as safe and spectacular as it had been before the dogfight with the Resistance.

Matt had proven to be a skilled and pleasant colleague. Hux wouldn’t mind working with him again.

The technician quietly sneaked out of the hangar without asking for dismissal while Hux was putting his gloves and greatcoat back on, but Hux wasn’t angry at the lack of appropriate protocol this time. It had been so long since Hux had put aside his general stripes that he’d almost forgotten his rank himself. It had been two technicians, working together to fix something that was damaged; not a technician and his general.

Hux was reminded of his rank and responsibilities, however, when he looked at the datapad that had remained forgotten in the pocket of his greatcoat. He had an inbox of reports and a long list of messages to respond to and he sighed heavily as tried to identify the most pressing of them all.

It had been a joy to be a technician for a few hours, but it couldn’t last forever. Hux took one last, lingering look at the TIE Silencer before he straightened his posture and headed for the bridge.

It was time to be the general again.

**

Hux was livid.

A Starkiller Base progress meeting with the other captains and commanders of the First Order navy had just concluded, and as the chief engineer of the project—and the most senior officer in the First Order—it had been his duty to lead the meeting. The ongoing expansion of the First Order was too important for all of the attendees to take the time to attend the meeting in person, so it had been conducted over holocalls. 

Hux hated conducting meetings over holocalls, but it was preferable to having a nest of vipers wandering the halls of the Finalizer while looking for any detail they could use to talk down to him about. Holocall meetings always started late and took too long as the distance seemed to embolden the other commanders to be as obstructive as they possibly could. Despite the patchy quality of long distance transmissions, it had still been easy to see the sneers on the faces of the old Imperials that had command of First Order ships and resented Hux’s position.

It didn’t take long for the others to realize that someone of importance was missing from Hux’s side. Kylo Ren hated meetings and Hux was usually thankful for anytime where the skulking knight was not in his vicinity, but Ren not being present reflected badly on Hux and the snide remarks soon started. 

_Can’t you control him, General?_

_Does he think so little of you that he won’t even attend your meeting, General?_

_If Kylo Ren was on_ my _ship, I’d make sure he was present, General._

Hux stood impassively and allowed the comments to wash over him. He’d learned when he was a child to not show weakness as those around him would love to exploit it so he ignored the mocking tones and pushed forward with the reason for the meeting. Kylo Ren was, Hux hated to admit, a constant source of failure for him. Starkiller Base, however, was not.

When the meeting was finished and the last of the holocalls had been disconnected, Hux took a few moments to allow the anger and hatred he felt to take over him. How dare Kylo Ren make a fool of him! How dare those other officers look down their noses at him! Hux was revolutionizing the First Order and he was developing a weapon that would win them the galaxy while those old Imperials were still coasting by on former glories. Hux screwed his fists up so tightly that he could feel the leather of his gloves creak under the pressure. He wanted to destroy them all—the New Republic, the officers that mocked him and most of all, Kylo Ren.

He wouldn’t though. Not now. Not when Starkiller Base and his moment of glory was so close to fruition. 

He took a deep breath, relaxed his hands, adjusted his cap and left the room.

Although Hux had managed to get his anger under control he could still feel it bubbling underneath the surface, so he decided to take a longer—but quieter—route back to his office. Nobody knew the never-ending corridors of the Finalizer better than Hux did and it was so easy to avoid officers and Stormtroopers if you knew how. They always took the quickest routes, the popular routes, the ones teeming with personnel and mouse droids. Hux liked the quieter routes, the ones that took him past the engines or disused sleeping quarters. It gave him time to think.

After fifteen minutes of walking and not seeing a single soul—human or droid—Hux was surprised to find someone sitting on the edge of one of the walkways. He soon recognized the bright orange vest and the unruly blond hair that seemed to be following him around recently. Despite Hux’s silent footsteps, Matt quickly sensed he was no longer alone and he turned to face his general. Protocol dictated that Matt should stand and greet his superior officer formally, but once again Matt ignored protocol and remained seated, his long legs still dangling from the edge of the walkway.

Once again, Hux—a stickler for correct protocol—found that he didn’t care about following correct procedures where Matt was concerned.

“What are you doing here, Matt?”

“Nothing, sir,” Matt replied. “I come here to think, sometimes. It’s so quiet here.”

Other than for the quiet hum of the Finalizer’s engines there were no other sounds to be heard. The walkway was far away from any of the areas of the Finalizer where officers worked or Stormtroopers trained. It was an oasis of calm in the middle of a busy metropolis and it was hard to imagine that it was in the center of a ship as busy and as big as the Finalizer was.

“Don’t you have work to do?”

Matt shook his head. “Not today.” He held up his datapad and showed Hux the blank task list, just to prove his point.

“I thought I told you to replace that old datapad, technician,” Hux replied. “Make sure that you do.”

“Yes, General.” Hux had just started walking away from Matt when the technician spoke again. “Is everything okay? You seem a little tense.”

Hux stopped walking. Was that concern in Matt’s voice? Hux couldn’t remember anyone ever showing concern for him before. He was used to orders to do better, to accusations that he wasn’t doing enough and complete disregard for his health and wellbeing, but concern? Was that what it sounded like?

He turned around. Matt was staring up at him and Hux felt like he could fall into those big brown eyes of his and never resurface. He knew it was unwise, but he couldn’t stop himself from answering. “I just came out of a project meeting with the other commanders of the First Order fleet.”

“It didn’t go well?”

“It might have been better if Kylo Ren had graced us with his presence.”

Matt frowned. “Was he supposed to be there?”

“Of course he was supposed to be there,” Hux snapped. “Unfortunately he’s a First Order commander as well, although I dearly wish that he wasn’t.”

“Maybe he didn’t realize how important the meeting was? Meetings can be boring, I wouldn’t go if—”

Hux’s tightly bound anger finally snapped free at Matt yet again defending Kylo Ren. “We don’t all have the luxury of skipping meetings just because they are boring. I have to attend all of the meetings despite my busy schedule running this ship, yet Kylo Ren can’t spare us a precious hour of his time? What does he do all day anyway? Sulk in a corner?”

“He—”

“Ren wants the glory of command, but he doesn’t want to put in the hard work,” Hux continued, ignoring Matt’s attempt at interrupting him. “He storms around the Finalizer like a bantha and throws tantrums like a petulant child. And he’s able to get away with this bad behavior because of cheap magic tricks and because he’s the Supreme Leader’s chosen pet project.”

The Finalizer must have changed course slightly because Matt’s tools began to rattle in his toolbox. Hux knew that no course deviation was planned, but occasionally one was required regardless. “Make sure you keep your toolbox orderly, Matt. I can hear them moving around. So while Ren continues to not do any meaningful work,” Hux said, not losing his train of thought despite the distraction of Matt’s tools, “I have to return to my office and write a report about what was discussed in the meeting, even though the meeting itself was a complete waste of my time. Writing the report will also be pointless because nobody will read it, least of all Kylo Ren.” 

Hux didn’t make a habit of complaining about his fellow commanders to lowly technicians, but he had to admit that he felt more relaxed and grounded now that he had allowed some of his anger to be released. It was unprofessional and unbecoming of his rank, but even generals needed that release sometimes.

Matt was quiet for a few moments. His legs were still dangling over the edge of the walkway and they were swaying in a carefree way that Hux hadn’t been capable of even as a child. When he finally spoke, it was in a softer and more thoughtful tone than Hux had heard from the technician before. “I didn’t realize that you hated the meetings, too.”

“Why should you?” Hux asked. “Count yourself lucky that you don’t have to deal with the politics and backstabbing of high command.”

“Well, if you ever want to talk—” Matt began, his face turning redder with every word. “It might help? Sir?”

Matt’s bashful awkwardness was surprisingly endearing. Hux usually had no time for such emotional displays of weakness, but yet again Matt was defying all usual conventions. Hux decided to ignore what that might mean.

“Don’t forget your rank, technician. Nor mine.” When Matt’s face fell and his full lips formed what could only be described as a pout, Hux felt something inside of him pull tight. “I do appreciate the offer, however.”

Matt smiled, and the tightness disappeared.

“Well, you may have an empty task list, but I do not,” Hux said. “This report won’t write itself. I hope you have a productive day, Matt.”

Hux had already started walking away before Matt replied. “I enjoyed talking with you, General.”

Hux hoped that Matt didn’t notice how he tripped over his own feet when he heard the honest sentiment in Matt’s voice.

**

Hux finished writing his report an hour later.

He almost fell off his chair when fifteen minutes after that he received confirmation that not only had Kylo Ren read it, but he’d left a well-thought out comment about the benefits of installing a thermal oscillator on Starkiller Base.

** 

Meetings were soon becoming the bane of Hux’s existence. As well as the Starkiller Base progress meetings and the spontaneous demands for an audience from Supreme Leader Snoke, Hux still had to conduct the regular meetings that were needed to keep a star destroyer running. He seemed to spend more of his time in meetings than he did on the bridge and it was not a situation he welcomed.

As frustrating as meetings with the other First Order commanders could be, the meetings with his own officers were hardly any better. He’d inherited some old Imperials when he’d taken over the Finalizer and they didn’t let Hux’s position as their superior officer stop them from being obstructive at every opportunity. The other officers were young and hungry, people that Hux had met on their way up the ranks and had made sure to form alliances with. They would support him until the end, but that brought its own set of problems. They were all so eager to impress their beloved general that no meeting could pass without them shouting their accomplishments across each other in the hope of getting a commendation that their peers wouldn’t.

And then there were the meetings that Kylo Ren attended. He didn’t attend many and his presence—constantly hovering behind Hux’s left shoulder—always unnerved everyone in the room. It did, however, make the meetings run more smoothly as none of the attendees had the courage to voice an opinion when they could clearly see Ren’s lightsaber hanging only inches away from his clenched fist.

Ren did occasionally have his uses.

Ren wasn’t present in the meeting that had just finished, nor had Hux expected him to be. Hux regularly met with the officers that oversaw the day-to-day running of the Finalizer and Ren had never attended one of these meetings. Maintenance was an integral part of keeping a star destroyer running and Hux wanted to remain informed about any malfunctions and repairs that had been completed. It wasn’t always easy to get replacement parts shipped quickly to wherever the Finalizer was, so it was important that everything was kept in perfect order and that any parts used in repairs were immediately restocked. It wasn’t the most interesting of meetings, but it was essential.

Hux was always the last to leave any meeting he ran. He watched as the officers picked up their datapads and bowed in deference to him before leaving—some more enthusiastically than others—and suddenly called out to one of the last to leave.

“Major Bardak, may I have a word?”

Major Bardak was one of the young officers that owed her rank to Hux. He had seen her potential two years ago and she had steadily worked her way through the First Order until Hux had promoted her to major. She was loyal and she was good at her job—that was all Hux asked for.

She seemed surprised that Hux had asked her to stay behind, but she knew better than to question the order. “Yes, General?”

“You’re in charge of the technicians, aren’t you?”

“Yes, sir.”

“I trust that Matt has now replaced his old datapad?”

Bardak paused for a moment before answering. “Excuse me, General?”

“Matt is still using a ZR-931 datapad. Those were supposed to have been replaced and destroyed three months ago, Major.”

“I’m sorry, General,” she began hesitantly, “but I don’t know of any technician named Matt.”

Hux sighed impatiently. “He’s as tall as I am—maybe a little taller—and broad, with dirty blonde hair and ridiculous glasses.”

Bardak seemed even more confused at Hux’s description. “There’s nobody fitting that description in the technician corp,” she said slowly. 

“You do know all of the technicians under your command, Major?” Hux asked.

“Of course, General,” she replied stiffly, “every First Order officer should know the staff they command. I meet with every technician every month and file performance reports as requested by the officer regulations.”

Hux was more than aware of the regulations; he had written them, after all. Major Bardak seemed honest and earnest when she said that she didn’t know Matt and she wasn’t the type of officer that would cut corners in her job. If she had missed her report deadlines or been sloppy in her work it would have been raised to Hux’s attention. It was Bardak’s diligence and respect for the rules and regulations that had first caught Hux’s eye, and in the two years he’d been watching her she had done nothing to shake his faith in her.

“It must be my mistake,” Hux conceded. “Dismissed.”

Major Bardak nodded in deference to him once more before quickly leaving the room.

Hux was due to return to the bridge once the meeting had concluded, but he knew that they could cope without him for another ten minutes. He couldn’t return to his scheduled duties while he had a riddle to solve. That had always been his problem—but it was also one of his strengths. Hux had one of those analytical minds that was able to break down a larger problem into its component parts and he refused to quit until he’d tried every angle to find a resolution. It was an invaluable strength when designing complicated projects such as Starkiller Base or the TIE Silencer, but it was a distracting weakness when it came to identifying radar technicians.

He sat back down and quickly navigated through his datapad until he found what he was looking for—the personnel files of every officer, Stormtrooper and crew member aboard the Finalizer. It didn’t take long for his practiced fingers to find the technician’s database, and only a few more seconds to find a record for Matt.

There he was; glaring at the camera from behind his oversized glasses in his ID photo. Hux looked at the photo for longer than he probably should have done. It was a strange face, really. All angles and oversized features. If you were to describe it to someone who’d never seen Matt before, they’d think it was an impossible jumble of characteristics that could never be attractive.

Yet it was.

Hux didn’t even notice that his fingers were lightly tracing over the visible moles on Matt’s face, the same way the young Hux would run his fingers from star to star on his father’s old maps of the galaxy. When he finally realized what his treacherous fingers were doing he pulled them away from the datapad as if they’d been burnt and nervously looked around the room, as if his own shame and embarrassment could conjure up someone to judge him.

He cleared his throat and continued looking at the file. It all seemed to be in order, although it was a little lacking in details. It was strange that Major Bardak didn’t recognize him as the file clearly stated that Matt was under her command, so Hux decided to look deeper. Being General gave Hux many privileges, and one of those was full access to the files—performance, medical, reprimands, everything—of every member of the First Order. The only file that was off limits to him was Kylo Ren’s and Hux daren’t imagine what horrors were contained within that. Some secrets were better kept secret.

It took a few seconds for his security credentials to be accepted, but Hux soon had access to Matt’s entire file. It only took another few seconds for Hux to know that something was very, very wrong with the file.

On the surface, it looked fine. Matt’s physical data—his height, weight, blood type and other such details—were all present, as was a list of all of the repairs he had completed since his assignment to the Finalizer. But, the physical data wasn’t backed up by the mandatory reports from the Finalizer’s medbay, and the some of the repairs were missing the initial damage reports or confirmations that they’d been satisfactorily completed.

The list of repairs themselves seemed odd. They were far more varied than any technician would be asked to complete, and seemed to be too few of them. Hux quickly scanned over the dates and saw that some repairs were made weeks, even months apart; no technician in the First Order would be able to go so long between working.

There were no performance reports, no transfer or training documents, no details of Matt completing the mandatory First Order reconditioning…

Hux pushed the datapad away in disgust. There was only one explanation that made sense and it was one that he didn’t want to contemplate. He didn’t want to accept that it was true or even possible for it to happen at all, but the evidence was staring him in the face. There could be no other explanation. All of those conversations he’d had with Matt, how the man had crept into his dreams—it all meant nothing.

For Matt was a Resistance spy.

Hux hastily stood up, ignoring the screech of his chair as he suddenly pushed it back, and began pacing around the meeting table. Matt had made a fool of him and Hux was going to make him pay for every kind thought Hux had wasted on him. He’d make Matt regret the day he decided to join the Resistance and go undercover on Hux’s star destroyer.

He would take his time though. A spy that didn’t know they had been discovered could be a useful fount of information to the First Order, so Hux wouldn’t capture Matt immediately. No. He’d watch Matt closely, monitor his communications and day-to-day life, and find out exactly what the fake-technician did during those huge gaps between repair jobs.

It would be Hux’s secret. The false personnel record for Matt went far beyond the capabilities of even a Resistance spy with full access to the First Order holonet—there had to be First Order officer involvement in creating a record that credible. If other members of the Finalizer’s crew were compromised, then Hux would smoke them out before he dropped the full weight of his anger down on Matt’s absurdly attractive head.


	2. Chapter 2

Hux’s first action was to ensure that every single off-ship communication, both incoming and outgoing, was manually logged, recorded and sent to his inbox. The communications officers had looked at him in slight horror when he’d confirmed that even communications made or received by officers were included, and they’d realized the full extent of the extra work he’d just landed on them. They were professional, however, and voiced no concerns to his face.

The officers in the shuttle bays that were responsible for every ship that docked with the Finalizer or left it were, unfortunately, not quite as professional. “But every ship submits a manifest that’s been authorized by an officer!” they had cried when Hux had told them to manually log every person and piece of equipment that either arrived or departed. “It will take hours to double check everything ourselves!” It was only Hux’s reminder that there were plenty of junior officers that would be more than happy to follow Hux’s orders and take their ranks in the process that made the shuttle bay officers obey.

Hux immediately pencilled in reconditioning sessions for every single officer that had objected.

Hux was now content that Matt the Resistance Spy wouldn’t be able to smuggle any information off the Finalizer, whether it be physically or through transmissions. Neither would Matt’s accomplice, which led Hux to the second part of his mission—he had to discover who that was.

Matt would have to communicate with his accomplice in some way. The First Order holonet was too easily tracked, so Hux doubted that they would be careless enough to communicate by messages or holocalls. Meeting in person was far safer. The Finalizer was a large ship and there were plenty of places for clandestine meetings—Hux had used some of them himself—and Matt in his guise as a technician would have free roam of the entire ship, as would any officer.

Hux returned to his office and looked up Matt’s file again, hoping to see that he was currently working on a repair and would be easy to locate. Unfortunately, Hux had never been that lucky. Next, he tried the technician rosters to see if Matt was on shift and cursed under his breath when he saw that Matt wasn’t listed. That meant Matt could be anywhere. He could be talking to his accomplice and divulging First Order secrets right now and Hux would be none the wiser.

Hux brought up the camera network that covered the Finalizer, his fingers pressing onto the glass of his holopad with more force than necessary. The Finalizer had thousands of cameras. Looking for any one employee was like looking for a dejarik playing piece in the sands of Tatooine, but Hux was determined to find Matt. He started with the recreational areas that were popular with the technicians and the Stormtroopers, but wasn’t entirely surprised when he didn’t see Matt there. Regardless of Matt’s position as a Resistance spy, he hadn’t seemed like the most sociable of people. He didn’t find Matt in the same empty corridor that he’d last seen him either, or the other hundred corridors he checked.

It wasn’t until he received a communication from the bridge asking him if he was unwell, that Hux realized he’d spent an entire eight-hour shift on The Matt Problem, and he had made absolutely no progress.

He cursed again, switched off his datapad and hurriedly made his way to the bridge.

He’d have to approach this from a different angle.

**

After two fruitless weeks of searching for Matt, Hux was beginning to think that a dejarik piece in the sands of Tatooine might have been easier to find. The man was a ghost; he hadn’t left the Finalizer—Hux was sure of that—but he hadn’t completed any repairs or been seen anywhere else, either. If Hux was honest with himself, finding Matt had become a bit of an obsession. He’d been spending more of his shifts in his office, obsessively staring at security camera feeds, than he had at the bridge. He’d even been late for a Starkiller Base progress meeting because he’d lost track of time while hunting for a hint of blonde hair. It was affecting his already poor sleeping schedule, too. He’d taken to waking up in the middle of his rest shift—the overnight zeta shift—in the hope of catching Matt skulking around in the dead of night. 

With his duties and sleep schedule suffering, and his sanity fraying at the edges like an old uniform, his only saving grace was that Kylo Ren had been off-ship on one of his pointless missions for the last two weeks. Hux had barely found the time to enjoy the quiet relief that always permeated through the Finalizer whenever Ren was away—even Mitaka could usually crack a smile when Ren was gone—as Matt had stolen away Hux’s attention. 

Hux knew that he was taking this too personally. He’d let his guard down around Matt, spoken to him like a friend instead of a subordinate, and he was livid with himself for falling for Matt’s awkward demeanour and ridiculous face. Other than for orchestrating the death of his father, Hux never usually allowed his personal feelings to interfere with his ambitions and his duty. The people he’d trod into the mud on his way to becoming general were just obstacles that needed to be overcome—it had never been personal.

But with Matt, like Brendol Hux before him, it was.

Hux was in his office, mindlessly flicking through security feeds again when his datapad beeped with a message from one of the shuttle bay officers confirming that Kylo Ren had returned to the Finalizer. He fired off a quick reply to confirm the message had been received, and returned to the security feeds. On a whim, he switched them to the shuttle bay that was reserved for Ren’s shuttle and watched with resignation as Ren stormed off his ship and sent a few officers running for cover with a few harsh words. Ren had only been back two minutes and he was already scaring the crew.

He decided to follow Ren as he made his way through the corridors of the Finalizer. During one of his rare planet-side missions, Hux had seen a captive rancor break it’s chains and run down the people that had been making it fight, and there was something about seeing Kylo Ren stomp down a corridor as crew members hastily got out of his way that reminded him of that rancor. But that wasn’t entirely true, now was it? Sure, Ren had all the subtlety of a thermal detonator at times, but he could also be incredibly graceful and quiet when the mood took him. Ren was a mass of contradictions wrapped up in tatty robes and a dramatic helmet, and Hux hadn’t even begun to unravel him.

Hux allowed his usually rigid posture to slip as he fell back into his chair. He’d obviously been staring at the security cameras for too long if he’d started to wax poetic about Kylo Ren, a creature that was currently ripping apart a 21-F medical droid because it hadn’t moved out of his way quickly enough.

Ren’s return to the Finalizer would have no doubt upset the previously calm atmosphere so it was important that Hux’s calm and stoic figure could be seen and admired. If it happened to get Hux away from his datapad, his office and the search for Matt, then that was just a happy coincidence.

**

Hux could still remember the first day that he'd walked onto the bridge of the Finalizer as its commander. It was his first command and he'd been impossibly young, but he'd been around his father enough to know that command was as much about how you carried yourself as it was your skill. With strong strides, a straight back and head held high he had walked across _his_ bridge, his exterior calm while his mind was screaming with satisfaction and pride. He'd never really lost those feelings; no matter how frustrated he was, a few hours on the bridge overseeing his crew running his ship was enough to keep him moving forward.

This time, however, the bridge wasn't working its magic at all. He stood, as he often did, by the viewport. From here he could see the never-ending void of space to his right, and the industrious bridge crew to his left. His datapad was in his hand but the screen remained blank, despite the near constant beeping to signal that another report requiring his attention had arrived. He couldn't concentrate on reports though. He couldn't enjoy the calmness of space or the power of commanding the bridge either; his mind was still firmly full of Matt.

His fingers itched to pull up the security feeds so that he could continue his search for the Resistance spy. It was like a compulsion that had crawled underneath his skin and was demanding to be listened to. He'd never felt distracted like this before—he was usually so single minded—and he didn't know how to bring himself back on track. He had work to do, reports to read, and a star destroyer to command. It was frustrating.

After a long and tortuous hour on the bridge of trying to ignore the compulsion to retreat to his office and continue the search for Matt, he could resist it no more. He curtly told Lieutenant Mitaka to mind the bridge in his absence and left, fully aware of the questioning eyes of his officers on his back as he deserted his duties once more. Hux knew that the time he’d spent holed up in his office instead of visible on the bridge had been noticed, but he also knew that when he finally had Matt and his accomplice flushed out, everyone would understand and be impressed by his detective work.

Despite leaving the bridge, Hux still felt restless. His office was only a few meters away, but he decided to take a more circuitous route. If he tried to concentrate on security camera feeds right now, he’d likely miss something. He needed to calm the itch he could still feel underneath his skin so that he could focus on his task, and a brisk walk down the monotonous hallways of the Finalizer was exactly what he needed.

He didn’t choose a route—he just allowed his boots to take him where they wanted to. He knew the winding hallways of the Finalizer like no other and would be able to quickly make his way back to his office regardless of where his walk took him. The itch began to disappear as Hux walked and he could feel his discipline and focus return. He was in the same hallway that he’d seen Kylo Ren lumbering through earlier and he wondered if the medical droid he’d destroyed had been fixed yet. Checking up on the damage would be a short term distraction—and something he probably should do anyway—so he continued down the hallway.

It curved to the left, and as he approached the curve he could see a couple of droid parts scattered on the floor. He took a couple of more steps, revealing more of the hallway to his view, and he saw the technician that was fixing the droid.

It was Matt.

He was sat cross legged on the floor in the middle of the hallway with the torso of the droid across his lap. It seemed that he’d put back together the body of the droid already and was working on the various wires and components inside. Fixing a droid was intricate work—Hux knew that from experience—but Matt seemed surprising adept at it. His hands had seemed so big and clumsy when they’d worked on the TIE Silencer together that Hux would never have expected Matt to be able to repair droids.

Hux watched for a few moments. Matt was soldering a wire back onto a circuit board in the droids back and Hux couldn’t take his eyes away from the intense look of concentration on Matt’s face. His dark brows were furrowed slightly and he was unconsciously nibbling on his bottom lip as he worked. Hux wondered what it would be like to have all of that concentration focused on him before internally chastising himself again. This situation would be so much easier for Hux if he wasn’t so inexplicably attracted to the man.

“You can fix droids, too?”

Although Matt had shown no sign that he’d noticed Hux’s arrival, he hadn’t seemed surprised to hear Hux’s voice break the silence, either. “When I was a child my family’s droids used to annoy me, so I’d take them apart. Eventually I learned how to put them back together again.”

Hux raised his eyebrows when he heard that Matt’s family had had droids—plural, not singular. That was usually a sign of wealth and status. How had Matt gone from such beginnings to becoming a Resistance spy? Had his family opposed the First Order’s expansion and been eliminated for their non-conformance? 

Or was it just all a lie and Matt had learned droid repair in the Resistance? Hux scowled. He couldn’t trust anything the other man said anymore. Was his name even Matt?

Hux moved a little closer until the toes of his boots nearly touched the pant legs of Matt’s jumpsuit. He looked down his nose at the dirty blond hair and big brown eyes that were staring up at him. He really did like seeing Matt in this position. “I repaired a few droids when I was a child myself.”

“You did?” Matt said, sounding surprised. “I can understand why you could repair the Silencer as you designed it, but I never thought you’d be as hands on as this.”

“No?”

“It’s my experience that First Order officers can give orders, but can’t do anything else. Sir,” Matt answered, hastily tacking the title to the end of his sentence.

“What did I tell you about criticizing your superiors, technician?”

Matt didn’t reply. Instead he simply bowed his head and pulled on the wire he’d just soldered, checking that it was secure and in place. Satisfied that it was correctly connected he picked up another wire from the pile on the floor and cut it to size. He hadn’t measured the wire before cutting it, but somehow it still fit perfectly.

Hux crouched down next to Matt, picked up one of the droid’s damaged arms that had yet to be reattached and began to unscrew the casing with one of the screwdrivers that Matt had scattered on the floor by his side. A few weeks ago, Hux would have enjoyed this. Repairing a droid with Matt would have been a pleasure for him, just as fixing the TIE Silencer had been. But that pleasure had been taken from him by the knowledge that Matt was a Resistance spy.

“I haven’t seen you in the last few weeks,” Hux said, hoping that he sounded more casual than he felt.

Matt dropped the wire he was holding inside the droid and took a few seconds to retrieve it before answering. “I’ve been doing maintenance in the lower levels.”

Hux knew it was a lie, but he let it slide. He didn’t want Matt to know that his cover had been blown. Not yet, anyway. “That would explain it. With Kylo Ren off-ship and unable to damage everything in sight you were able to do your regular job for once. I’m sure you have better things to do than fixing medical droids.”

“I don’t mind,” Matt said with a shrug of his shoulders. “Besides, I could say the same for you, sir.”

“I’m used to cleaning up after Ren.”

“I’m sure he appreciates it.” 

Hux reply came in the form of a bitter and derisory laugh. “I doubt that Ren knows the meaning of the word ‘appreciate’. Or if he even realizes the extra work he causes me.”

“I think he’s beginning to,” Matt replied.

Hux managed to hold in the second laugh. “I highly doubt that.”

He put the arm of the droid back onto the floor but didn’t stand up. The talk of Kylo Ren and the trouble he had caused since arriving on the Finalizer had reminded Hux of the little device that was in the pocket of his greatcoat. It had been there for weeks, just waiting for the right time and opportunity to make use of it. Its intended recipient had originally been Ren, but the knight could wait. Hux had a better use for it.

“I will trust you to finish the repairs on your own, Matt. As you so efficiently reminded me, I do have duties to return to.” Hux held the screwdriver he’d been using out to Matt, and was pleased when Matt instinctively took it from him. “Can you put that back in your toolbox for me?”

“Yes, General.”

The toolbox was on the opposite side of Matt to where Hux was still crouched, so he had to turn away from Hux in order to replace it. With Matt looking away from him, Hux grabbed his chance. He quickly took the tracker out of his pocket and reached over, deftly slipping the device into the open pocket on Matt’s vest that lay beneath his name badge. Hux straightened the badge as cover for leaning in close enough to plant the tracker before he pulled away. Planting the tracker had made him get closer to Matt than he ever had before and he could still smell him as he rose to his feet. Matt smelt like oil and burnt wires, but there was another smell there, something familiar in an entirely different way and it frustrated Hux that he couldn’t place it.

When Matt turned back to Hux, his face was flushed as brightly as the garish vest he wore. “Did you— What— Did you just touch me?”

“I straightened your badge, technician. I won’t tolerate my crew looking sloppy.”

Matt was still staring into space with a stunned look on his face when Hux turned and walked away.

**

Hux didn't check the trackers location until an hour later. He wasn’t surprised to find Matt in the hallway still fixing the droid. Ren had done a good job of destroying the droid with his attack so Hux had expected it to take some time to repair. As much as Hux wanted to spend the rest of his shift staring at the dot on his datapad that represented Matt, he did have other things to do. Top of the list and most urgent was yet another Starkiller Base progress meeting. Again, Kylo Ren was absent when he should've been there but his absence was not missed this time—not by Hux anyway. 

The meeting soon descended into its usual arguments about funding and supplies as the other commanders in the First Order were unhappy that Starkiller Base was receiving so much of the First Order’s budget. As Hux argued his case yet again and pointed out that Starkiller had the full support of the Supreme Leader himself, he momentarily forgot about tracking Matt. Arguing with old Imperials always could make him forget about everything other than winning the fight. Two hours of repeating the same arguments and listening to the same baseless criticisms later, and Hux was finally able to bring the meeting to a close. Now that he didn’t have to worry about Starkiller Base and arguing with small-minded and jealous peers, his mind quickly returned to Matt. 

Hux opened the tracking program on his datapad and saw that Matt had moved from his position in the hallway. It didn’t take long to recognize where he’d moved to, as Matt was now in the same hallway that Hux had found him in a few weeks ago. Hux wondered if it was the meeting place for Matt and his accomplice but quickly dismissed the thought. Even if it had been their meeting place, Matt wouldn't be reckless enough to use it for that purpose any longer, not now he knew that Hux himself occasionally strolled through. Matt had been able to infiltrate the First Order and move unnoticed for several months and it was impossible to stay undercover that long by behaving recklessly. 

To satisfy his own peace of mind, Hux checked the camera feed for that hallway and sure enough, Matt was sitting on the ledge with his legs dangling into the abyss below as he kicked his heels, just as he had when Hux had met him there those few short weeks ago. Being a spy deep in enemy territory must be stressful so it was not surprising that Matt would occasionally hide away somewhere quiet and peaceful. 

Hux closed the camera feed on his datapad and returned to the bridge. He had reports to check and knew that he needed to be seen by his officers. He could easily check the tracker device from the bridge without it distracting him as obviously as flicking through the numerous camera feeds did. With his course of action set, Hux left the meeting room.

When he arrived on the bridge, Hux kept half an eye on the tracker as he read through reports and spoke with the bridge crew. It was vitally important to check in with his crew and it was something that he had definitely neglected during the search for Matt. These were his people—every single one of them had their position and rank because Hux had given it to them—they were loyal to him and he knew he needed to be loyal to them in return. 

He had been on the bridge for two hours before Matt started to move and Hux watched closely as Matt moved through the hallways of the Finalizer towards the nearest turbolifts. It took a few seconds for the tracker to catch up with Matt's new location, but he appeared to be on the same deck as the officer’s quarters. Hux closed down the reports he had been reading and focused solely on Matt. He was certain that Matt's accomplice was an officer—only an officer would be able to falsify Matt’s personnel file—and he was hoping that Matt would lead him right to them. 

Matt moved down the hallway and past the quarters of several officers, until he stopped in front of a room that was at the end of the hall, slightly at a distance from the rest. He entered this room and the tracker stopped moving. Hux stared at the stationary dot on his screen for several minutes as he triple-checked the Finalizer schematics he had saved in his brain. It didn’t matter which angle he approached the map from, he could only come to one conclusion. He pulled up the list of assigned quarters on the Finalizer’s holonet and despite repeated readings it only confirmed his earlier conclusion. 

Matt had just stepped inside the quarters of Kylo Ren, and nobody ever entered the quarters of Kylo Ren. 

Even Hux in his role as general had no access to Ren’s rooms and frankly, Hux was more than content with that arrangement. He couldn’t even imagine what a creature like Ren could have done with his rooms and felt it was a question better left unanswered.

He couldn’t believe that Matt’s accomplice in his spying mission was Ren, though. Although Hux hated the knight and had often questioned his dedication to the First Order, he had no reason to doubt Ren’s dedication to destroying the Resistance. Destroying the rebels and everything General Organa had built was an obsession of Ren’s and one of the few things the co-commanders had in common. It was the reason why Ren spent so much time and energy consumed with the search for Luke Skywalker and Hux had to acknowledge that, even if he didn’t agree with it. The knight wore his emotions on his long black sleeves and Hux couldn’t believe that his hatred of the Resistance was faked. Even in the unlikely event that Ren was able to fool Hux, it would be impossible to fool the Supreme Leader as well.

So why was Matt there? 

It could be something as innocent as a technician completing repairs, after all Matt did have a history of cleaning up after Kylo Ren. Yes, that was probably it, Hux decided. It couldn’t be anything else. Ren didn’t have friends that would visit him in his quarters and he couldn’t be a spy, so Matt had to be fixing something.

Content with—but not convinced by—his own explanation, Hux returned to his reports. He kept the tracker screen open though, ready for when Matt moved again.

**

Matt hadn’t left Ren’s quarters when Hux’s shift finished four hours later.

He hadn’t left when Hux went to bed three hours after that, his datapad set to notify him with a loud alarm when Matt’s location changed.

Three days later, and Matt’s position still hadn’t changed at all.

He couldn’t think of a single reason why Matt would have been in Ren’s quarters for over three days, which meant he only had one option.

He would have to speak to Kylo Ren.

**

Speaking to Kylo Ren was a task that was easier said than done. Ren had a talent for disappearing when you wanted him, but constantly being around when you didn’t. It took Hux a further four days to find Ren, which meant that it had been a full week since he had planted the tracker on Matt. In that week, Matt still hadn't moved—the tracking program on Hux’s data pad showed that Matt was still inside the quarters of Kylo Ren. Before, Hux had been angry with Matt for his betrayal but now, after a week sequestered in Ren’s quarters, he had to admit that he was worried for Matt’s safety. 

Had Ren discovered that Matt was a spy too? Is that why Matt was locked away in Ren’s quarters? If so, why hadn't he told Hux? Hux was the general, the commander of the Finalizer, if there was a spy on board he had to be told about it. Of course he hadn't told Ren of his suspicions either, but the two situations were hardly comparable, Hux told himself.

He found Ren observing a battalion of Stormtroopers training. For someone that seemed to have no interest in the wider workings of the First Order, Ren took a surprising interest in the fighting techniques of the Stormtroopers. Ren often went into battle with the Stormtroopers so knowing their skills and fighting patterns would undoubtedly be a tactical advantage to him, but Hux had never expected Ren to concern himself with things such as battle tactics. Ren had always given the image of a rampaging wampa that wanted to damage everything within range so Hux had been staggered when he’d discovered that Ren’s in-battle destruction usually followed a tactical plan. 

Hux didn’t often underestimate people, which made it all the more infuriating that he had underestimated Ren’s talent for battle strategy.

The Stormtroopers were practicing hand-to-hand combat and one of the younger ones had just been knocked to the ground when Hux came to stand next to Ren. From their viewpoint on a balcony overlooking the training hall, it was easy to see every individual fight that was happening. Hux watched a few more fights come to a close while he decided how to approach Ren with the topic of Matt’s location.

“Their fighting is improving,” Hux remarked.

Ren hadn’t moved an inch since Hux had appeared and had shown no sign that he’d even noticed Hux was there. His answer, when it finally came, was short and to the point. “Yes.”

Hux tried to think of how to continue the conversation but his mind drew a blank. In the three years that he had been working alongside Ren, Hux couldn’t remember a single conversation they’d had that hadn’t quickly descended into anger or sarcastic comments. He had never been comfortable with small talk or idle chatter like the other cadets and officers he had spent his life around, and making small talk with Kylo Ren would have been an insurmountable task for even the most talented. 

He decided to cut to the chase. “Ren, have you killed any of my crew members recently?”

Ren slowly turned to face Hux, the silver edging on his helmet catching the stark overhead lighting and momentarily blinding Hux. He seemed to consider Hux’s question for a few seconds before answering. “Not that I can recall.”

“Are you certain?”

“I destroyed an annoying droid a week ago, but nothing human.” That would be the droid that Matt repaired, Hux knew. “Is there a reason why you’re asking, General?”

Hux decided to be somewhat honest, but not entirely so. “There is a crew member missing. A technician. He hasn’t left the Finalizer but he hasn’t been seen for a week, either.”

Ren turned back to the fighting Stormtroopers. “I haven’t murdered any technicians recently.”

It was possible that Ren was lying of course, but Ren had never seen the need to lie about similar things in the past. If anything, he seemed to enjoy flaunting the havoc and destruction he caused on the Finalizer and revelled in how scared the crew were of him. Ren telling the truth didn’t solve the riddle of why Matt was still in his quarters, however.

“Ren,” Hux began, choosing his words carefully, “your quarters are located on level two, room 74, are they not?”

This time when Ren turned to face Hux it was much faster than before. “Yes.”

“And they’re single berth?”

“That is correct.”

“And you don’t—“, Hux paused. 

Hux’s next question sounded crazy even when it was still inside the haven of his own mind, and he had no doubt that it would sound even crazier spoken aloud. Despite this he still had to ask. He braced himself for the worst, took a deep breath, and faced Ren like he was asking him about something as mundane as the weather.

“You're not sharing your quarters with anyone are you? The occasional visitor is permitted of course, but with single birth occupancy you should not be allowing anybody to stay overnight. I don't want to police your private life Ren, but rules are rules.”

Because of the helmet it was always hard to tell exactly where Ren was looking or what expression was on his face. Hux didn't even know if Ren had eyes or a face in the human sense as he had never seen Ren without the helmet. Despite the barrier covering his head however, sometimes Ren’s expression was obvious to all and this was one of those times.

“For once you are right—my private life is none of your business. I suggest you concern yourself with your precious Starkiller Base instead of prying into my circumstances.”

“As commander of this ship I have a duty to—“

“Has the pressure finally got to you, General? First you annoy me with questions about a missing crew member and now you are wasting my time with inane questions about my living circumstances. I humor you because the Supreme Leader does; nothing more. I know nothing about your missing technician and nobody but myself ever enters my quarters. Are you satisfied?”

Before Hux could answer, Ren had turned and left the balcony in a flourish of black robes that seemed to be more for dramatic effect than anything else. Hux had the answers to his questions, but nothing had been resolved. If anything he had even more questions and fears than before. If Ren hadn't murdered Matt and left the body in his quarters, nor was he having some kind of clandestine affair with the technician (for which, Hux was more grateful than he wanted to admit) then it left only one explanation.

Matt must've infiltrated Ren’s quarters and was hiding there now, looking for information on Ren and the First Order that he could feedback to the Resistance. Matt was a more dangerous spy than Hux had feared possible.

He followed Ren’s lead and left the balcony before quickly striding back to his office. He barely took notice of the three new lightsaber shaped marks in the still smoking durasteel wall as he strode past it. 

He had to think about his next course of action; and quickly.

**

Unfortunately—and uncharacteristically—Hux was all out of ideas. He was certain that Matt was a major security risk and needed to be contained as soon as possible, but while he was hiding in Ren’s quarters he was untouchable. Although Hux had never been inside Ren’s quarters himself, he knew that the layout was similar to his own. However, that would only have remained the case if Ren hadn't altered it to his tastes. Ren could've done anything to the space designated as his rooms, so Hux didn't know how easy it could be for Matt to be hiding in there. The more he thought about the problem, the more he realized that his only course of action might be to speak to Ren again and bring him up-to-date with what was happening. He didn't want to speak to Ren again—of course, he never did want to speak to Ren in any circumstances—but he was starting to realize that he would have to do so.

Hux was considering exactly how much to say to Ren when his datapad beeped—Matt was finally on the move. He watched the little dot that represented Matt leave Ren’s quarters and make his way through the hallways of the Finalizer until he entered a turbolift. Hux had to wait a few agonizing seconds until the turbolift came to a halt and showed him which level Matt had alighted on. It was the same level as the Stormtrooper training rooms. In fact, he wasn't far from where Hux and Ren had had their last discussion while watching the Stormtroopers train.

Hux switched on the security feed. It was definitely Matt, and he looked just as impossibly tall and awkward as always. Although the feed wasn't in full color, Hux thought that he could still see his dirty blonde hair as it spilled over the collar of that garish orange jacket. It was that jacket that included the tracking device he’d planted on Matt a week earlier, and he was very relieved that Matt hadn't found it. Matt had his toolbox with him and he continued walking past the training rooms until he stopped at a portion of the wall that now had added lightsaber produced grooves in it. Hux recognized it as the same part of the wall that Ren had attacked earlier. It was no longer smoking, but the damage was still clear to see. It seemed that Matt was yet again going to repair what Kylo Ren had damaged.

Hux never had managed to figure out why Matt only seemed to repair Kylo Ren's temper tantrums. He couldn't think of a single legitimate reason why either a First Order technician or a Resistance spy posing as one would only concentrate on fixing Kylo Ren's mistakes. It made no sense. He continued to watch as Matt investigated the damage and wondered exactly how Matt would go about repairing it. Matt measured the length and width of the lightsaber grooves, and Hux could only presume that Matt would order a replacement section of durasteel to replace the section that had been damaged.

Matt's thick fingers danced across his datapad after he had finished taking the measurements and it seemed that yes, that's exactly what he was going to do. Hux checked his own datapad to double-check that the order had been placed and he quickly opened the request. He didn’t want Matt to disappear on him again, so he decided to expedite Matt’s order and labelled it as a top priority. Seconds later, he saw Matt glance at his datapad again as the confirmation of his durasteel order and its status as high priority was relayed to the technician.

As Hux had hoped, Matt decided to wait in the hallway for his order to arrive. He sat on the floor of the hallway with his long legs stretched and crossed at the ankles as he patiently waited. He looked comfortable and content in a way that Hux wouldn't have expected a Resistance spy to look. Matt looked like he belonged in a First Order uniform on a First Order ship, and Hux could understand why his presence had never been questioned.

He allowed himself to watch Matt for a few more moments—a selfish indulgence that he wouldn't normally succumb to—but then began to read through the reports that he had been once again neglecting. The next twenty minutes passed quickly, as Hux kept one eye on the reports and one eye on Matt at all times. Matt didn't seem to move a muscle during that time at all— it was as if he was meditating in his own world. It wasn’t until a droid pulling a trolley with the replacement durasteel on it arrived that Matt finally moved.

Watching Matt remeasure the damaged portion of the wall and delicately cut around it so that it could be replaced wasn't the most interesting of repair jobs, but Hux watched nonetheless. The droid remained present, standing idly by and ready to carry the heavy durasteel but Matt didn't use it for anything else. After the damaged portion of the wall had been lowered onto the floor, the droid picked up the new section of durasteel and held it in position, ready for Matt to fix it in place. Hux seemed to realize before Matt did that the tool Matt needed to fix the new durasteel to the wall was out of Matt’s reach. With the droid able to hold the heavy durasteel in place for an indefinite amount of time, Matt could easily walk over and pick up the screwdriver he needed.

However, that's not what Matt did.

Hux could hardly believe what the security cameras were showing him when Matt reached out with his right hand only for the screwdriver to steadily lift from the floor and come rushing into his waiting grip. Hux had seen something similar before, but only once. And it had been done by Kylo Ren. 

Hux replayed the last few seconds of the video feed just to make sure that his eyes were not deceiving him. Then he replayed it again. It didn’t matter how many times he watched the footage, he was just as surprised as the first time to see the screwdriver flying through the air and landing in Matt’s hand. No number of replays could help explain it, either.

Hux knew that there was only one explanation. Matt had used the Force. Hux had been around Kylo Ren enough to recognize the Force when he saw it.

Hux didn't know what to think. How could Matt have used the Force? According to both Ren and the Supreme Leader, other than for the two of them and Luke Skywalker, there were no Force users left in the galaxy. Even if Hux doubted Ren’s assessment, he had no reason to doubt Supreme Leader Snoke, too. And hadn’t Ren said to Hux only weeks before that he could sense the Force in both places and other people? Was it possible that he could've missed Matt, despite the technician spending a week hidden in his quarters? 

No. 

Hux didn't believe that was possible. There had to be another explanation for this, one that explained why Matt could use the Force and Kylo Ren hadn't noticed. 

Suddenly, Hux’s analytical mind put all of the pieces together and came up with an answer he didn’t dare to believe.

It explained why Matt's personal file was so thin and lacking, and why an obviously skilled technician like Matt didn't do many repairs and only seemed to repair what Kylo Ren had destroyed. The reason why Matt had gone undetected in Ren’s rooms for so long became clear, and Hux knew why Matt could use the Force.

Matt the radar technician was Kylo Ren. 

It seemed unbelievable, but explained everything. Matt disappeared because he was walking around the Finalizer as Kylo Ren. Kylo Ren had missed meetings because he was dressed as a technician and was cleaning up after himself. There were large gaps in Matt’s repair history because he was off-ship and completing missions as Kylo Ren.

Although Hux had answered some questions, there were now other questions that Hux desperately wanted the answers to, such as why was Ren doing this? Why was he dressing as a technician and fixing his own damage? 

But there were also some questions that Hux didn't want to contemplate the answers to. Could all of the nice conversations he'd had with Matt really have been with Kylo Ren? The two of them had hated each other ever since Ren had first stepped foot on the Finalizer, it was inconceivable that they could get along so well. There was also the issue of Hux’s growing attraction to Matt but that was definitely something that he didn't want to think about. 

Not now. 

What Hux did need to think about, was what he was going to do with this new knowledge. He was the commander of the Finalizer; that Ren had performed this little charade under his nose without telling him was not to be tolerated. He knew that he would have to face Ren and confront him, he just needed to plan exactly how he was going to do that. 

He could take his time, though. Ren was unaware that Hux had discovered his little ruse and Hux was willing to let it continue while he decided what to do. It wasn't often that Hux had such an advantage over Kylo Ren, but now that he did he was going to make the most of it.

**

Hux had learned many years ago that patience was a virtue. It was with that proverb in mind that he took his time deciding on how to tackle the issue of Kylo Ren and Matt. 

The first decision he had to make was what he actually wanted from Ren. Having Ren admit that he was Matt just wasn't enough to satisfy Hux. Ren had spoken to Hux in the guise of Matt. He'd tricked Hux into speaking to him in familiar ways that he never would have if he’d still been wearing Ren’s helmet. Maybe Hux was overreacting slightly, but there was a part of him that felt almost betrayed by the knowledge that Matt was not real. There was another part of him, however, that was confused by it all.

It was hard to believe that the person he'd spent those pleasant hours fixing the Silencer with and had had numerous relaxed conversations with was really Kylo Ren. Hux couldn’t remember the last time he had spoken to someone as freely as he had with Matt. Had Ren posed as Matt and spoken so nicely to Hux in order to gain an unfair advantage over him? Had he hoped that Hux would lower his guard enough to let slip some information that Ren could use against him? As angry as it would make Hux, he would be able to understand such political tactics as they had always been common amongst senior officers that were vying for favor. 

What he wouldn’t be able to understand was the possibility that those conversations with Ren—in his guise as Matt—had been real. Hux had hated Ren since the first day they’d met and he had been convinced that Ren had felt the same way. They were two commanders on one ship, pulling in two different directions while the Supreme Leader enjoyed the show. Maybe if they had been able to put aside that irrational hatred and desire to outmaneuver the other, they could've had a healthy working relationship and become colleagues. Friends, even.

But Hux didn’t want to think about that. Instead, he concentrated on how he was going to trap and embarrass Ren for his deception.

It took him three weeks of deliberations and planning before he decided what to do, and a further four days before the opportunity to put his plan into action arose. It was deep into the evening gamma shift when the tracker that was still planted in Matt’s orange jacket showed that he had finally reappeared and was a couple of levels below Hux’s quarters. A quick check of the security feeds confirmed that he was repairing yet another lightsaber ravaged console. This was the opportunity that Hux had been waiting for to enact his plan, but he had to time it perfectly if it was to be successful. Although Hux had become used to being patient and to picking his spots so that he could defeat stronger opponents, this time, the wait was excruciating. 

He waited and watched as Matt assessed the destruction and removed the damaged parts of the console. Hux tried to calm his nerves with a cup of his customary tarine tea as Matt removed the damaged sections. When Matt began to affix the new sections, Hux slowly stood up and calmly— a lot more calmly than he felt—put on his leather gloves, command cap and his greatcoat. It wasn't until Matt started to pack up his tools and tidy up the broken debris around him that Hux made his move and left his quarters. 

It was finally time.

When Hux arrived on the scene, Matt was just fastening the latch on his toolbox. He greeted Hux with a respectful nod of his head, which Hux quickly returned. It was the first time Hux had met Matt face-to-face since he had deduced that he was really Kylo Ren, and Hux couldn't help but look at him with new eyes. Matt was young, with big innocent looking eyes, a deep voice, and most surprisingly he was utterly, utterly human. Hux had imagined many times what Kylo Ren might look like underneath his helmet and robes—he’d run through every alien species he knew that had a vaguely human shape—but he had never imagined that Ren would be as human as this. Hux pulled his attention away from Matt's face and humanity as they were distractions he couldn’t afford. He wasn't there to appreciate the interesting lines and features that made up Ren’s face; he was here for his plan. There would hopefully be time for staring at Ren later.

Hux approached Matt slowly, purposely coming closer than he would do normally. Matt was still on his knees, toolbox in hand, and Hux wanted to make the most of the power imbalance. Hux knew that he could look imposing in his full general’s outfit, with his coat flaring around his ankles, leather gloves stretching over his knuckles and neat red hair partially hidden under his cap, and imposing was what he was aiming for. The power imbalance was a fallacy of course—Hux knew that—but he could use it to his advantage. While Ren was dressed as Matt and was posing as an ordinary technician, Hux grossly out ranked him and that was an important part of Hux’s plan.

“Good work technician,” Hux said, “your repairs are as exemplary as always.”

Yet again Matt's reaction was curiously embarrassed and shy, as if he wasn't used to hearing such praise. Which, Hux considered, coming from him he certainly wasn't. Ren never earned such compliments. “Thank you, General,” Matt said softly.

“Now that you're finished here, I have another little task for you. It's a delicate repair but I trust your skill and ability to complete it in a satisfactory manner. Please, follow me to my quarters.”

Matt’s eyes widened behind those awful glasses. Hux desperately wanted to see what Ren would like look like without them. “I'm sorry General, but I have other repairs to complete. Maybe another technician could help.”

Hux had expected this reply from Ren—in fact, he'd been hoping for it. He had expected that Ren wouldn't want to be alone with Hux in his quarters, and wouldn’t agree to any repairs Hux asked him to do. Matt had only concerned himself with repairing damage that he had caused himself as Kylo Ren, after all. 

But this was where Hux would have his victory. As a simple radar technician, Matt had no authority to reject a direct order from a superior officer, especially not the single most superior officer on the ship. He would have no choice but to comply with Hux’s request if he wanted to keep his disguise and ruse going. There was no repair on the ship—no matter how important—that an order from General Hux wouldn’t supersede. The only way that Matt could refuse Hux’s order would be to reveal himself as Kylo Ren. Ren was the only person on the Finalizer that didn't answer to Hux, and had the authority to not follow his orders. 

Hux was intrigued to see what Ren would do. Would he continue pretending to be Matt, or would he reveal himself? It didn’t matter to Hux which path Ren chose—he was going to make Ren regret deceiving him, either way.

It was easy to see that Ren was considering his options and Hux gave him time to come to a decision. After a few more agonizing seconds, he stood up with his toolbox in hand and bowed his head to Hux once more. “Lead the way, General.”

**

Hux took his time walking through the hallways of the Finalizer to reach his quarters. Matt followed silently, always keeping a couple of steps behind and never trying to catch up. It was such a contrast to how Hux would walk through the hallways with Kylo Ren on the rare occasions they had reasons to walk together. Ren would always walk in step with him, or if Ren was feeling particularly obstinate he would ensure he was always half a step in front of Hux. It was a power play—one that Hux understood but refused to play along with. It was too petty for Hux, he would rather choose battles that had consequences. It was also a power play that Hux knew he couldn't win, not with Ren. 

But he could win with Matt.

When they arrived at Hux’s quarters, Hux didn't even bother checking if Matt was still behind him. He knew he was. Hux simply opened the door and walked inside, trusting that Matt would shortly follow him into Hux’s private space. It suddenly occurred to Hux that Ren had never been inside his quarters before, either. Hux guarded the privacy of his quarters with almost as much fervour as Ren did of his. He wondered what Ren thought of the few minor adjustments that Hux had made to personalize his quarters and make them more comfortable. There wasn’t much, just the ice blue sofa with his non-regulation fluffy bathing robe draped over the back, and a dirty cup on his desk that had once contained his favorite tarine team. Those little flourishes stood out, however, and Hux had no doubt that Ren had noticed them.

Hux shrugged off his greatcoat and gently placed it on the back of his desk chair. His command cap was removed next, and that was placed neatly in the center of his desk. Hux’s movements as he shed the extra parts of his uniform that he so loved to hide behind were slow and meticulous. He knew that Matt was watching him—watching him and not moving, just silently standing in the doorway like a broken droid that was waiting to be repaired. From the corner of Hux’s eye he saw Matt shift slightly. It was only the smallest of movements, just a little adjustment of his weight from one foot to the next, but it was a sure sign of Ren’s discomfort and unease. 

Hux had Ren off-balance and he wanted to keep it that way. 

Hux began to remove his gloves, making sure to pull them off one finger at a time. Hux never usually took this much time when it came to removing his uniform. He was always meticulous when he got dressed in the morning because as general, it was his responsibility to look the part. However, at the end of his shift—when he returned to his quarters for his rest cycle—he didn't take the same amount of care. This time was different; he wasn't removing his gloves because his shift was over, he was removing them to make Ren wait just that little bit longer. 

It seemed to be having the intended effect as Matt appeared to be mesmerised by Hux’s slow and deliberate actions. His brown eyes followed every little movement that Hux made and he stared at Hux’s bare fingers with a level of intensity that made Hux shiver. Whether he was wearing his helmet or not, Kylo Ren was still the most intense man Hux had ever met. With his gloves now removed and neatly placed on his desk, Hux flexed his fingers but still didn't acknowledge his guest.

Eventually, Matt couldn't take Hux’s games any longer and he finally spoke. “What do you need repairing, General?” he asked. 

Hux didn't answer. He didn't even react to the question. He had heard it of course, but he didn't want Ren to think that he had any control over what was going to happen. His place wasn’t to ask questions and demand things of Hux—his place was to do whatever Hux required of him.

Matt still stood by the doorway but Hux deftly stepped around him, his hip gently brushing against Matt's due to the lack of space. Hux placed his hand on the panel by the door and a loud beep signalled that the door was now deadlocked. Nobody would be able to enter without Hux’s permission, but more importantly, nobody would be able to exit. Hux didn't know if deadlocks truly did work against the Force, but it was worth trying. 

Matt realized what Hux had done, but he didn't understand why he was now stood in Hux’s deadlocked quarters. “What is going on?,” he asked. “Is it the door that you want me to repair? There are other technicians that are more skilled at that than me.” 

Hux brushed past Matt once again and walked back to the center of the room. He quickly turned on his heels, clasped his hands behind his back and despite the missing parts of his general’s uniform, once again looked every inch the general that he was. “Let's not carry on with this facade for any longer, shall we?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean all of this,” Hux said, releasing his clasped hands to wave his right up and down in Matt’s direction.

Matt looked down at himself as if he expected to see what Hux was talking about. “I don't understand what—“

“No,” Hux interjected, “I don't suppose you do understand. Well, let me break it down for you.” Hux took a seat on his comfortable blue sofa and crossed his legs. From his relaxed position it was even easier to see how tense and confused Ren looked. 

“Let's begin with your repairs shall we? They are impeccable, of course, but they're also very strange. Technicians on the Finalizer average five repairs in each work shift. Your average is far below that. In fact, it can be several weeks in between your repairs. As curious as that is, it's not as curious as the fact that every single repair that you have completed in the last six months has been to repair something damaged by Kylo Ren. Do you have an explanation for this, Matt?”

Matt shrugged his shoulders. “I only repair what I'm instructed to. If you have questions about my workload I suggest you speak to my supervisor.”

Hux smiled. So, Ren was going to try and explain his way out of the situation. Hux had hoped he would. “Nobody respects the chain of command more than I do, Matt. Of course I’ve already spoken to your supervisor. Major Bardak seemed to have no idea who you are.”

“Well,” Matt began, his voice hesitant and tinged with uncertainty, “I don't socialize with the other crew members. I spend most of my time alone. Many people here don't know me.”

“Is that so? I don’t believe that, and it conveniently brings me to my next point. Before I explain though, can you just look inside your top left pocket—the one below your name badge? I left something in there are a couple of weeks ago and I would like to see it returned.”

The genuine look of confusion on Ren’s face was the most satisfying thing Hux had experienced in a long time. At the academy, Hux was never the strongest or the fittest of the cadets, but he was the smartest and the most conniving. He had honed his ability to gain an unfair advantage over his stronger enemies while he was there, and he was using the tricks he had learned as an underestimated teen against Ren. Hux had always been the cleverest person in the room, and being in a room with Kylo Ren did nothing to change that.

The pocket seemed too small for Matt's big hands, which—Hux thought—probably explained why he didn't use that pocket and hadn't discovered the tracking device. After some awkward fumbling and under the breath cursing, Matt managed to take hold of the small black machine in his pocket and he pulled it out, placing it flat in the middle of his palm. If the way his eyebrows rose and his eyes widened were any indication, he instantly recognized it for what it was.

“That tracker shared some very interesting information with me, Matt. You say that you have no friends, but you have spent a lot of time in the quarters of Kylo Ren recently, haven't you? I was very surprised to see you stay in Ren’s rooms for over a week, because I was under the impression that Ren doesn't allow anybody into his rooms. Even the service droids are not allowed entry. I must admit that for a moment I was worried that he might have killed you, but I'm glad to see that you are alive and in good health. Ren does have a habit of killing my crew. It's very irritating.”

Matt didn't reply. His open hand closed around the tracking device and Hux could see from the way his fingers flushed red that he was squeezing the tracker with a great deal of pressure. Thankfully, the First Order made their trackers out of exceedingly strong material, otherwise he was certain that Matt would have crushed it to bits. 

He was getting under Ren’s skin, and that was what he wanted.

“But as surprised as I was to see that you were a guest of Kylo Ren's,” Hux continued, “there was something that surprised me even more. Do you know what that was, _Matt_?” Hux spat out Matt's name with such emphasis that even one as socially inept as Ren couldn't fail to notice. 

Matt loosened his grip on the tracker and held his head up high. There was a hint of defiance in his posture and anger on his face now and Hux was just as glad to see that as he had been to see his earlier confusion. Ren had finally realized that not only was Hux playing with him, but that he held all of the sabacc cards.

“What surprised you, _General_?,” Matt said filling his own voice with just as much scorn when he used Hux’s title. It was the first time that Hux had been able to recognize Ren’s usually altered voice in Matt’s words as the level of disdain that Matt had laced that title with was exactly the same as how Ren would say it. 

“I have full access to every security feed on this ship and I used it earlier today to watch you repair the wall that Kylo Ren damaged. As usual, your tools were scattered across the floor—you really aren’t the neatest and most organized of people, are you? But that’s beside the point. You needed a tool that wasn’t within arm's reach and instead of walking over and pick it up, I saw it fly through the air and land in you hand. You used what looked like the Force, Matt. Would you care to explain how that is possible?”

Matt shoved his hands in his pants pockets. “I'm Force sensitive.”

“Are you? Really? As I’m sure you’re fully aware, we do test every new recruit to see if they are Force sensitive, no matter what their position in the First Order is to be.”

Hux knew that he had Matt cornered, but still he refused to acknowledge his true identity as Kylo Ren. Hux had to admire his commitment to the ruse and quick thinking, even if it was beginning to annoy him. 

“I fooled the tests.”

“I concede that may be possible, but would it be possible to fool another Force user? Only a couple of months ago Ren told me that he could sense the Force on both people and places. Are you saying that you’re strong enough to deceive Kylo Ren?”

The battle that played out on Matt’s face was a sight to behold. It was an impossible question for him to answer. Hux knew that Ren was very proud of his Force abilities, and that pride wouldn’t allow Ren to admit that another Force user could fool him in that way. But, to state that Ren couldn’t be fooled would bring Matt’s explanation of being Force sensitive into question.

Matt decided not to answer and Hux smiled again. The dejarik board was loaded and it was finally time for Hux to make his winning move.

"Ren was very adamant that no Force user would ever be able to fool him. But of course, you would remember telling me that wouldn't you, _Ren_?”

Matt’s uneven jaw clenched but he managed to spit out an indignant response. “What? I don’t understand—”

Hux sighed. This had gone on long enough. “Please, Ren, do give me some credit. Did you really think that I wouldn't discover your little disguise? I do feel like I must commend you on your commitment to it all, though. The fake personnel file was an especially nice touch and would have been accepted by most officers as genuine. I am not, however, most officers.”

Ren stared at Hux with eyes full of defiance. For a moment, Hux thought that Ren was going to continue to argue with him but he seemed to realize that Hux had him cornered. “No, you aren’t,” Ren sighed. “I’m impressed that you worked all of that out, but I suppose that I should’ve expected it. Nobody can sneeze on this ship without your knowledge or permission.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment and an admission that I’m correct,” Hux said. Ren didn’t reply—he simply shrugged his shoulders and Hux knew that was the only confirmation he was going to get. “There is one thing that I didn’t work out, however.”

“What’s that?”

“Why repair the things that you’ve broken? Why go to that trouble? Did Snoke order you to? Is it the Supreme Leader’s way of punishing you for the damage you’ve caused?”

“No.”

The previous look of defiance drained from Ren’s face as his cheeks flushed red and he lowered his head, obviously uncomfortable and embarrassed by Hux’s line of questioning. Ren’s reaction only made Hux pursue the answer with even more determination.

“Do you do it because you enjoy repairing things?”

“No.”

Then what was Ren’s motivation? Why had he posed as a technician to complete his own repairs? And why was he so embarrassed about it? All of the repairs he’d completed had been exemplarily—Hux doubted that even the most skilled of the regular technicians could have done better over such a wide variety of jobs. Ren should be proud of his repair skills and his ability to deceive everyone, yet he was acting like it was a shameful secret.

Then suddenly the explanation hit Hux like an ion blast bursting from the Finalizer’s cannons. 

“You’re embarrassed by it all, aren’t you? Not of the repairs that you’ve made, but because things needed to be repaired to begin with. You’re embarrassed whenever you lose control and damage what’s around you. That’s why you’re doing this, isn’t it? You’ve stolen a technician’s uniform and are repairing your own mistakes to atone for your humiliating loss of control.

“It’s why you like being Matt, too,” Hux continued, remembering what Matt had said in defense of Kylo Ren. “There’s no pressure or expectations on Matt’s shoulders. Matt has no responsibilities beyond putting things back together again. Being Matt means that you can be someone else for a while and escape the cage of being Kylo Ren.”

“Hux, I—”

Hux raised his hand and motioned for Ren to remain silent. Ren instantly obeyed. Hux stood up and took a couple of steps forward, closing the gap between them until he was close enough to hear Ren’s sharp intake of breath at their proximity. “It’s okay. I understand. It must be tough being Kylo Ren. I don’t blame you for finding solace in someone else’s skin. Sometimes I wish I could do the same. No wonder you spent so much time dressed as Matt, just sitting in deserted hallways and enjoying the peace and quiet.

“But you don’t have to worry about that here. Not with me. You don’t have to live up to any expectations placed upon you by Snoke, your knights or the First Order itself. There’s no need to concern yourself with responsibilities or staying in control. In fact, you don’t need to be in control at all.”

Ren’s unexpected shyness and docility had unlocked something in Hux that he usually tried to keep hidden. This was no longer about embarrassing Ren or scoring points in their never-ending pissing contest, it was about something much more meaningful.

There was no fight in Ren left after Hux’s words and he looked lost. Ever since Hux had discovered Matt’s true identity he’d wondered why Ren wore his mask. After all, Ren wasn’t some freakish alien that would stand out amongst the humans of the First Order, nor was he horribly scarred or disfigured. The helmet didn’t even contain breathing apparatus, like Darth Vader’s had done. It seemed to serve no purpose at all. 

But now, after this confrontation, Hux understood why Ren wore it. Ren’s face was so open and honest, so emotional and easy to read—he needed the helmet to cover the vulnerability that shone in his eyes. Hux had never expected to associate a word like ‘vulnerable’ with someone as aggressive, boorish and obstinate as Ren, but he was starting to realize that he knew less about his co-commander than he thought. 

In the three years that Ren had been on his ship, Hux had never really cared to see what lay underneath Ren’s mask. Of course, he’d wondered what species lay beneath the helmet, but he’d never actively tried to find out as between the Stormtroopers and TIE Pilots, Hux was surrounded by masked people all of the time. Helmets were so ubiquitous that he barely registered their existence, or that there were actual human faces beneath them. But now that he’d finally seen Ren’s face—albeit while he was masquerading as Matt—Hux cursed himself for not seeing it earlier. He could have had months, years even, of staring at that face.

Hux knew he still wasn’t seeing the full picture though. He wasn’t sure exactly when he’d realized that Matt’s dirty blond hair was a wig, but now that he’d noticed, he couldn’t think about anything else and desperately wanted to see Ren without it.

He took another step forward. He was so close now that the bulky pockets at the bottom of Matt’s orange vest were lightly touching the material of Hux’s tunic. He couldn’t feel Ren—not through the many layers of uniform that they both wore—but he felt like he could. At this close proximity it was easier to see Ren’s height advantage, and Hux found that it didn’t bother him as much as it did when Ren used his helmet and hood to make the most of his few extra centimeters by trying to intimidate him. There were no attempts at intimidation in this Ren at all, if anything, he appeared to be intimidated by Hux.

Hux ignored the slight shakiness of his hand when he reached out to Ren and instead focused his attention on Ren’s expression. Although Ren had been calm and docile since he’d entered Hux’s quarters, Hux was still more than aware of the potential danger of what he was about to do. Ren reminded Hux of the great wolves that roamed the forests of Arkanis and occasionally sought refuge on the academy grounds from the torrential storms. They would allow the cadets to feed them—pet them even, sometimes—but they were always one second away from ripping a young boy’s arm out of it’s socket. Hux knew from personal experience of seeing Ren on a rampage that he was far more dangerous than even the wolves of Arkanis had been.

When Hux’s fingers brushed against Ren’s cheek, the other man flinched slightly, but didn’t back away or reject the touch. His skin felt surprisingly soft and Hux dared to lightly drag his fingers across Ren’s face until they found the coarse and synthetic hair of the wig. Ren was now so still that Hux wasn’t sure he was even breathing, although, Hux wasn’t entirely sure that he was breathing either.

Hux removed the glasses first. He removed them slowly, careful to not catch Ren’s ears or poke him in the eye. Ren didn’t flinch or seemingly even blink, and Hux was suddenly struck by the intimacy of the act. When he held them in his hand, he threw them over his shoulder, not caring if the plain glass in the frames shattered when they hit the floor.

Hux tugged—gently—on some of the blond strands that fell around Ren’s ear. When Ren didn’t react and just carried on staring, Hux tugged that little bit stronger before burying his fingers in the wiry hairs of the wig. Then, he pulled. It didn't take much for the wig to begin sliding out of place and Hux kept a close eye on Ren’s face to make sure that the movement of the wig didn’t pull on Ren’s own hair and cause the man pain. When had Hux started to care about not causing Ren discomfort or pain? Why was he so carefully studying Ren’s expressions, ready to stop what he was doing immediately if Ren indicated in anyway that he wanted him to stop?

Hux tried not to think about what everything meant and switched off the analytical part of his mind that had led him to discovering Matt’s true identity in the first place. It was easier this way. Hux had been a chronic overthinker since he was a small child, but this time he decided to act and follow his desires—no matter how alien a concept that was to him—and to ignore the potential consequences. 

Hux had never really thought about what color hair would lie under Ren’s wig, but after several months of seeing him with Matt’s dirty blonde hair, he found it hard to imagine Ren with any other color. He knew that it wasn’t logical to cover real blond hair with artificial blond hair, but even so he was not prepared for the thick and wavy black locks that tumbled out from underneath the wig. Ren’s hair was certainly not of a First Order regulation length, but for the first time in his First Order career, Hux didn't care about regulations and was glad to see them broken. 

Without the ugly wig in the way, Hux was able to see Ren—to truly see him—for the first time. The facial features that looked mismatched and out of place on Matt, somehow looked perfectly put together on Ren. He was younger than Hux had ever expected, and he was more beautiful than Hux had feared he ever could be. 

Hux hated that he’d spent the last three years not knowing how lovely Ren was underneath his helmet, but felt privileged and smug at the knowledge that he was the only person in the First Order (other than the Supreme Leader) that knew just how lovely Ren was.

Hux threw the wig to the floor. “There you are. But, it’s not quite you yet, is it, Ren?”

Ren’s brows furrowed. Hux didn’t need the Force to read Ren’s confusion at Hux’s statement, or his unhappiness at Hux no longer touching him. The latter was obvious from how Ren leaned into Hux’s hand as he moved it away, as if he was trying to prolong the contact for as long as possible. Hux idly wondered how long it had been since Ren—always covered from head to toe—had felt someone else’s skin against his own.

“I don't think it's befitting for the master of the Knights of Ren to dress as a mere technician. Take the uniform off.” 

It was a gamble, and one Hux didn't know if he'd survive. Ren had allowed Hux to remove his glasses and wig with nothing but a heavy sigh, but choosing to remove his clothing himself because Hux had asked was something else entirely. Would this be the request that would finally make Ren snap out of his uncharacteristic obedience and become the brute that Hux was more used to? Or would this strange collective calm that had descended over them and enveloped them both in a charged atmosphere hold true? Hux held his breath and didn't dare to move until he found out what Ren’s response would be. He couldn't see Ren’s unstable and bulky lightsaber anywhere on his person, but Hux had seen Ren in action enough times to know that Ren didn't need his lightsaber to tear someone apart. 

Ren’s hands—such lovely big hands, Hux thought—unfastened his gaudy orange jacket with steady precision and no hint of his earlier nerves. It was such a contrast to how shaky and embarrassed Ren had been earlier. The change intrigued Hux, but not as much as seeing that orange vest drop gracefully to the floor, the metal name badge that said ‘MATT’ hitting the shiny black surface with a surprisingly loud clunk. The grey jumpsuit that lay beneath was unflattering—not just on Ren, but on everyone—and for the briefest of moments Hux wished that Ren was wearing his regular black robes, and that it was his ratty cowl that lay on Hux’s floor. 

But, Hux mused, the Ren that usually stalked through the hallways and scared his officers probably wouldn't have followed Hux’s suggestion to undress. Hux knew from his own experience of putting on his general stripes for the first time that the clothes you wore could have a staggeringly large effect on how you carried yourself and behaved. He was certain that this was true of Kylo Ren also, and as much as he would like to have seen Ren peel off those dramatic robes he so enjoyed intimidating everybody with, Hux knew that it was unlikely to happen. 

Hux decided to push his luck that little bit more. “The jumpsuit, too.” 

There was an agonizing moment when it looked like Ren was going to disobey but again, he didn't. Hux was starting to think that Ren needed this—whatever it was—as much as he did. That as much as Hux enjoyed cornering and confronting Ren and finally getting some semblance of power over him, Ren was equally enjoying being overpowered. Ren didn’t intentionally tease with his movements when he pulled down the zipper that ran down the center of his jumpsuit, but the slow reveal of the pale and smooth skin underneath teased Hux nonetheless. 

The zipper stopped at Ren’s waist and he shrugged the jumpsuit off his shoulders with a nonchalance that seems at odds with the situation. It hadn't been that long ago that Hux had not seen a single inch of Ren’s bare skin, but now here Ren was, barefaced and bare-chested all because Hux had asked it of him. Hux had always known that Ren’s strength was more than just his skill with the Force, but even so he wasn't prepared for the thick arms and chest that were now on display to him. Hux had never thought that he was attracted to a specific type of man before but now he knew that wasn't true, and that the type of man he was attracted to was Kylo Ren. 

He could see Ren’s chest rise and fall with every breath that he took and it was mesmerizing, so mesmerizing that Hux didn't even notice when Ren stepped out of Matt’s work boots and then pushed the jumpsuit off his hips. Hux’s first thought was to be surprised that Ren was wearing the First Order regulation briefs underneath his jumpsuit. Somehow, seeing that black material and red logo on Ren’s hip was more alluring to Hux than if Ren was standing in front of him naked. His second thought was that Ren’s thighs were magnificent. Not for the first time that evening Hux thought it was a crime that Ren covered himself in those unflattering layers of robes that didn’t do enough to show the body underneath. A body like this deserved to be appreciated and if Ren would allow it, Hux would do exactly that.

“There we go,” Hux said, “no more pretending to be something you're not. Do you feel better now, Ren?”

“Yes,” Ren said softly, before quietly and hesitantly adding, “ _sir_.”

Hux had become used to hearing Matt address him in such a way, and even though he knew that it had been Ren all along, hearing it from a Ren that was no longer hiding his identity provoked feelings in Hux that he didn't know he had.

“Are you willing to follow my orders, Ren? Will you respect the chain of command for the first time in your existence and do what your general asks you to?”

Ren shivered and Hux couldn't tell if it was from the chill in the room or from the question he'd just been asked. Ren seemed to consider his options. They both knew what Hux was suggesting, and they both knew what was going to happen if Ren agreed. Although Hux desperately wanted Ren to acquiesce, he didn't want the man to feel trapped and forced into it. 

He walked past Ren, his eyes raking hungrily over the muscle and curves of Ren’s back as he did so, and placed his hand on the panel beside the door. It beeped twice to signal that the deadlock had been released and Hux waited. He hoped that Ren wouldn't take this opportunity to leave, but he gave him the opportunity all the same.

After what felt like an eternity, Ren looked over his shoulder, his gaze unmistakably falling on the door before he spoke. “I will do whatever my general asks of me.”

Hux understood what Ren was really saying to him. He was giving Hux control. Everything Hux had said earlier had been correct—Ren needed to be instructed, he needed to escape his responsibilities and be as anonymous and insignificant as Matt had been, if only for the shortest amount of time. Ren was placing a lot of trust in Hux and Hux would make sure he wouldn't regret a second of it.

Hux put the deadlock back on the door, and he could see some of the tension release itself from Ren’s shoulders. He had no doubt now that Ren wanted this as much as he did and that was even more powerful than Ren’s blind submission. 

He walked past Ren one more time and took a seat in the middle of his blue sofa. He relaxed into the plush cushions, spreading his legs slightly in a more informal pose than he was sure Ren had even seen in him. Hux always stood very stiffly, his posture usually perfect as if he was constantly standing on parade, but he wanted to be comfortable for what was about to occur.

“Come here,” Hux said softly. Ren took a couple of steps closer and then stood awkwardly, his bare toes mere inches away the perfectly shined boots that Hux had no intention of removing. Hux pointed to the space between his boots. “There.”

Ren dropped to his knees with surprising grace. He looked up at Hux, his big brown eyes widening with an innocence that suggested he didn't know what Hux was going to ask of him. But then, he licked those plush lips of his and any semblance of innocence he had proved itself to be false. Hux decided to give in to an impulse he’d had since removing Matt’s awful wig and he buried his fingers in Ren’s hair. How could someone who spent most of their time wearing a helmet, and other times wearing a bad wig, still have such soft and luscious hair? 

Hux could have petted Ren all night but the sight of Ren leaning into his touch while he was between Hux’s legs half-naked was starting to make Hux’s cock stir. He reluctantly pulled his hands away from Ren, stifling a wry chuckle when Ren whined at the loss. Hux hadn't thought that such a pathetic little noise could be made by the formidable Kylo Ren, but now that he'd heard it he wanted to see what other unexpected little noises he could coax out of Ren.

Hux put his hands on his thighs, and Ren’s attention immediately dropped to his crotch. “Why don't you show your general what that mouth of yours can do?”

No verbal answer came from Ren, but one wasn't really needed, not when he reached forward with his big hands and scrambled to open the fly of Hux’s pants. Hux was still in his uniform and Ren didn't bother trying to undress him, he just reached inside Hux’s pants and pulled down the waistband of the same regulation briefs that Ren himself was still wearing. His hands quickly found what they were looking for and pulled out Hux’s half hard cock. Hux tried not to be dismayed by how much smaller he looked in Ren’s big hands compared to his own smaller ones, and was glad to see that Ren didn't seem disappointed by his prize. If anything, Ren was looking at Hux’s dick with wonder, as if he couldn't believe he was getting the opportunity to service his general this way.

Ren held Hux’s cock with great reverence before tightening his grip and beginning to move his fist up and down. His grip was tight but not bruising, firm but not painful. He ran his thumb over the head with every up stroke and twisted his grip slightly with every downstroke. It had been so long since Hux had felt a foreign pair of hands on his dick. Ren wasn't quite touching him the way that Hux liked to touch himself, but the earnest concentration on Ren’s face and just the fact that it was _Ren_ made up for any faults in the technique.

When Ren was happy that he had coaxed Hux’s cock to full hardness and had had his fill of running his fingers over that silky flesh, he let go and placed his hands on Hux’s thighs, just below where Hux’s own hands still lay. Ren leaned forward hesitantly, his hair falling forward to hide his eyes from Hux’s view. Hux didn't want his view of what Ren was about to do to be obscured in anyway so he gently brushed Ren’s hair back and held it off his face. He didn’t put any pressure on Ren—he didn't force his head down any quicker, or direct him in any way. He wanted this to be Ren’s show. He wanted to see what Ren would do and how he would do it.

Ren moved his hands up Hux’s thighs now that Hux’s hands weren't in his way and he leaned further forward. His tongue darted out from between his lips and started to lap at the head of Hux’s cock, as if he was mapping out every contour and every taste he could find. Those little kitten licks were both not enough and too much in equal measures, but still Hux did nothing to push things along. He simply watched as Ren licked a path down his shaft to his balls and then showered them with the same gentle attention.

Hux had expected Ren to approach sucking his dick the same way he approached everything—with wild and uncontrolled abandon. But that wasn't the case. There was an intensity in the way Ren wrapped his lips around Hux’s cock and teased his length with his tongue as his head bobbed up-and-down, but it was surprisingly restrained. Ren seemed to be cataloguing every reaction Hux made, whether it was a flinch of his thigh muscles, a buck of his hips, or one of the few moans that dropped out of Hux’s mouth. Anything Ren did that provoked one of those reactions, he did again and again and again.

Hux couldn't take his eyes off what Ren was doing to him. He couldn't stop looking at the way Ren’s reddened lips stretched around him or how the stark lighting in the room highlighted the breadth of Ren’s shoulders. Ren’s big hands continued to grip his thighs with an almost bruising pressure to hold him in place, and Hux half-hoped to see marks in the shape of Ren’s hands when he finally undressed. Ren looked up at him with eyes that were watering in the corners and all Hux could see in those brown depths was an honest desire to make his general happy.

Hux ran his fingers through Ren’s hair again, careful to make sure that his face remained on full view. “You're so good at this,” he praised. “Good boy.”

The epithet fell out of Hux’s mouth without any conscious thought, but when Ren moaned around his mouthful at Hux’s praise, it was all Hux could do to stop himself from holding Ren’s head in place and simply fucking his throat. But that's not what this was about. It wasn't about Hux simply taking what he needed, it was about Ren submissively giving what he wanted. 

“That's enough, Ren,” Hux said softly. 

When Ren pulled his mouth away from Hux’s cock and sat back on his heels, he looked confused and disappointed. On a different day and in a more regular situation Hux would have taken great pleasure in causing Ren to look like that. But now, he took no pleasure at all.

“You did well,” Hux continued. “I'm very pleased with your performance. But, I want a little more from you now. Will you stand up, and take off your underwear for me?”

Ren complied without hesitation, jumping to his feet with the speed of a warrior and pulling down his briefs with the self-confidence of someone who knew they had nothing to hide. And he truly did have nothing to hide, Hux saw. In a different situation, Hux would have taken great pleasure from riding that cock until he screamed. Ren’s dick was fully hard and dripping at the tip despite it not being touched yet. Had Ren really enjoyed pleasuring Hux that much? 

A part of Hux wanted to order Ren to stand naked in the corner of his room, just so that Hux could stare at and appreciate the thick muscles of Ren’s battle sculpted body. He was stunning. But that was a waste, and Hux had never believed that old proverb that one should look but not touch. Ren’s body was crying out to be touched and Hux wanted to do nothing more.

“Hands on my desk,” Hux instructed.

Yet again, Ren did as he was told. His back was to Hux once more, and he took his place as instructed with his feet apart and a slight bend at his waist to accommodate how much taller than the desk he was. Hux hadn't noticed before, but Ren’s body was covered in a patchwork of light scars and dark moles. He’d noticed the moles on Matt’s face a few weeks earlier, but he hadn’t imagined that they would decorate the rest of his body, also. Hux walked over to where Ren stood and lightly traced a patch of moles that adorned Ren’s right shoulder blade. He heard Ren’s sharp intake of breath at the fleeting contact and wondered once more how long it had been since Ren had felt a gentle touch. 

Hux stepped a little closer and embraced Ren from behind. His uniform pressed against Ren’s bare skin and he ran his hands over Ren’s chest, stopping only to pluck at his hardened nipples. Ren was meant to be touched, to be groped and pinched, and Ren squirmed in his arms. Not because he wanted to get away or to stop Hux’s wandering hands, but because it was almost too much. Hux gripped Ren’s heavy cock and marveled at how he could barely wrap his hands around it. He gave it a couple of tugs and leaned in closer until his nose was buried in Ren’s hair and his lips were at one of Ren’s oversized ears.

“I am going to fuck you now,” Hux whispered into Ren’s ear. “Do you want me to do that?”

Ren pushed his hips back into Hux’s crotch by way of an answer, but that wasn't the answer that Hux wanted.

“You were so talkative when you were Matt. If you don't tell me what you want then nothing is going to happen, Ren.”

Ren lowered his head so that his hair was covering his face yet again, but he wasn't quick enough to stop Hux from already seeing the way his cheeks flushed. He was embarrassed to admit what he wanted but Hux refused to go any further until Ren got over his shyness. Matt had spoken freely with him and he insisted that Ren should do the same.

“Do you remember what I said to you earlier, Ren? You don't have to worry about anything here. You don't have to pretend to be someone you're not. There is no Supreme Leader, no Force, and no mistakes. You don't need to fix things to make up for losing control. I want you to lose control under my touch. Let go and tell me what you want.”

Ren stood up a little straighter and held his head up high. Even without his boots on he was still a little taller than Hux. When he spoke it was with the same conviction that Hux usually heard filtered through Ren’s helmet. “I want you to fuck me, General.”

Hux reluctantly let go of Ren’s torso and took a step back, running his hand down the center of Ren’s spine as he did so, from his neck to his tailbone. His hand drifted a little lower and he gave Ren’s ass a gentle squeeze before pulling away completely. “Stay there,” he said, “and don't move.”

Hux quickly went to his bedroom and found the small tube of First Order regulation lubricant that he had stashed in the cabinet next to his bed. He rolled it between his hands as he returned to Ren and was pleased to see that Ren had followed his instructions perfectly and was still standing there, legs spread, bent at the waist and with his hands firmly on the desk. The long lines of Ren’s limbs could only hint at the actual power contained in Ren’s body and Hux couldn't quite believe that all of that power was being handed to him, if only for the shortest time. Thoughts of what would happen after this was finished briefly entered Hux’s mind but he dismissed them. His cock—still hard but not achingly so now—still hung out of his pants and needed attention.

Ren saw the small cylinder in Hux’s hand and patiently watched as Hux approached him. He shifted his feet back a little, causing his back to bend further and his hips to to push back, as if he was trying to tempt Hux that little bit more. Hux thought that it was a pointless gesture as he couldn't possibly be more tempted than he already was.

“You did what I asked and didn't move. You've been so good for me, now it's time for me to be good to you.”

Hux wanted to take his time, to take Ren apart piece by piece before putting him back together again, but this wasn't the time for that. This was far more urgent and primal, so he filed away every little thing he wanted to do to Ren—and everything he wanted Ren to do to him—in the hopes of there being a next time. A visible shiver ran down Ren’s spine when he heard the unmistakable sound of the lubricant being popped open and Hux wasted no time in coating two of his fingers. He put the bottle in the pocket of his tunic so that it was in easy reach and then ran his fingers down the crack of Ren’s ass. Hux didn't want to drag this out too much as he had been on edge ever since Ren had first touched his cock, but he didn't want it over so quickly that it was finished before it truly began.

He teased Ren’s rim by swiping over it with his finger before slowly tracing around the edge of the muscle. Ren tried to push back onto his finger to encourage it to go where he wanted, but instead of allowing Ren to have his way Hux placed his hand between Ren’s shoulder blades and pushed him down until his chest was flush against Hux’s desk.

Ren was tight but Hux was patient, and he soon had his index finger buried to the second knuckle. Ren was no longer silent, and with every movement of Hux’s finger another breathless sigh left Ren’s mouth. Hearing him was intoxicating and before Hux even realized it the rhythm of his own breathing had fallen in sync with Ren’s. Hux pushed another finger inside and Ren began to thrust his hips back with the little leverage he had from his position pressed against the table. His eyes were tightly closed and his mouth was hanging open as Hux continued to stretch him open. Hux could see that Ren’s back and shoulder muscles were tight with tension and Hux couldn't wait any longer.

His fingers were uncharacteristically clumsy as they scrambled to get the lubricant back out of his pocket and he didn't even care that he got some of the thick liquid on his previously spotless tunic. All Hux could think about was how good it would feel to sink his cock into Ren’s warm and welcoming body. 

He slicked up his dick, wrapped one hand around the base and positioned it at Ren’s waiting hole. Hux took a deep breath, admired how Ren’s hole quivered in anticipation, and then pushed in.

It had been a long time since Hux had penetrated anybody, but he was certain that it had never felt as good as this. He placed his hands on Ren’s sturdy waist and snapped his hips with rash enthusiasm. Ren wasn't one of those young and skinny junior officers that Hux had played around with when he was also a young and skinny junior officer. Ren was solid and warm underneath Hux’s hands, a strong and welcoming muscled body that could take everything Hux had to give and still demand more. 

Ren was biting his lip, his slightly crooked teeth worrying his plush bottom lip to make it impossibly reddened. His eyes weren’t closed, not fully—there was just a hint of the deep brown visible from underneath his long lashes. Ren’s cheeks were flushed and strands of his hair were beginning to stick to his forehead. He was a mess, but it was a mess that Hux had made and he couldn’t take his eyes off him. Hux knew that whenever he and Kylo Ren argued in the future—and no matter what came out of this liaison they would no doubt argue again in the future—when he looked at Ren’s battered and intimidating helmet, all he would be able to see would be the face he was seeing right now. 

Hux kept his right hand on Ren’s hip but allowed his left to wander. He traced over those moles on Ren’s shoulder blade one more time and then ran his fingers down the broad expanse of Ren’s back. He could feel the muscles shift as Ren began to meet his thrusts and marveled yet again at having this power under his fingertips. Hux’s quarters echoed with the sounds of what they were doing, of flesh meeting flesh and a chorus of moans so intermingled that Hux didn’t know which were his and which were Ren’s.

Before he knew what he was doing, he was speaking again. “You’re being so so good for me. Isn’t this so much better than destroying things?”

“Yes, sir,” Ren gasped.

“Do you know how many times I thought about doing this to Matt? I wanted to drag him off by that ugly orange jacket, throw him into a storage room and show him what it truly meant to serve the First Order. Then I found out he was you. I was so angry at being deceived and losing Matt. But, this has turned out so much better, hasn’t it?”

“Yes, sir,” Ren repeated, as if he couldn’t say anything else.

Hux’s hips were starting to lose their rhythm as the pleasure built and built inside of him. Ren’s moans had turned into a string of nonsensical noises and his eyes were now completely shut. Hux took hold of Ren’s leaking cock and began to stroke him towards his orgasm. It wouldn’t be much longer now.

Hux leaned down, his perfectly fitted tunic pressing against Ren’s sweaty back and whispered in Ren’s ear. “Look at me. Look at your general as he makes you fall apart.”

Ren opened his eyes and twisted his neck a little so that his face was no longer pressed against the desk before locking eyes with Hux. Ren was beautiful like this—a sweaty mess and so thoroughly debauched. Hux was certain that he looked no better.

Ren came with a silent cry, his cock coating Hux’s hand as his body tightened under Hux’s grasp. Hux try to hold on through it—he tried to make it last. Ren was boneless now, and Hux leaned down again to lick away a bead of sweat that was running down the side of Ren’s face. His hips kept moving as Ren lay still beneath him, moaning incoherently as Hux’s dick brushed against his prostate.

When Hux came, he wasn’t sure if it was stars he saw before his eyes or the moles on Ren’s shoulder blade.

Hux pulled out carefully, his gaze instantly dropping to the sight of his come dripping down Ren’s thighs. It was an image he knew he’d never forget. He wiped his cock and come covered hand on the bathing robe that was draped over his sofa and then stuffed his softening cock back in his briefs and fastened up his pants. He could feel that a couple of strands of his hair had come loose from the pomade he used to hold it in place but he found that he didn’t care enough to fix it. His nerve endings were still tingling with the aftereffects of his orgasm and he felt like he needed to sit down before he fell down. He took a seat on the sofa again, only this time his posture was more befitting of a general.

Ren was slowly pulling himself back together, too. He stood tall, rolling his shoulders as he did so and took his time in turning around to face Hux. Hux didn’t blame him—now that the confrontation had reached its natural end everything was starting to feel awkward. 

It wasn’t Matt that was brushing his hair back from his sweaty face, it was Kylo Ren; Hux’s hated co-commander. Other than for the conversations they’d exchanged when Ren was dressed as Matt, they’d never had a civil conversation in the three years they’d worked together and now they had to navigate through a post-sex conversation? Hux had never been good at these. His affairs when he’d been a young officer had always been conducted in the other party’s quarters for the sole reason that it meant Hux could leave as soon as possible and avoid any awkward conversations about whether he was staying the night or if it would happen again. He hoped that Ren would feel the same and leave before anything needed to be said.

But Ren didn’t make a habit of doing what Hux wanted. Not before tonight, anyway.

“Everything you said earlier was correct, Hux.”

Ren turned to face Hux and Hux couldn’t help but drag his eyes down Ren’s body one more time. If he was going to suffer through this conversation, then he was going to appreciate the view while he did. “Remind me, what did I say?”

“About my reasons for being Matt,” Ren explained. He squatted down and picked up his clothes. Hux was greatly disappointed when Ren slipped his briefs back on. “I do like the anonymity, the calm, and lack of responsibility. And I do repair things because I’m embarrassed that I broke them.”

“I thought as much,” Hux said smugly.

Ren stepped into the jumpsuit and pulled it over his hips. It really did do nothing for his figure, Hux thought. “You did miss one reason, though.”

That surprised Hux. He thought that he had everything so neatly worked out and was shocked to hear that he had overlooked something. “Oh?” Hux said passively, as if he didn’t care about the missing reason when it had suddenly become all he could think about.

Ren finished dressing—orange jacket and all—before he spoke further. All that was missing were the wig and glasses that he nervously held in his hands. “I came to enjoy speaking with you. Instead of instantly fighting, we actually talked and worked well together. As Matt, you spoke to me with more respect than you ever did to Kylo Ren.”

Hux was dumbfounded. Ren had enjoyed speaking with him? He’d enjoyed speaking with Matt of course, but he’d never expected that Ren could feel the same. The conversations with Matt had been so easy and natural—if he’d been able to put aside his animosity and hatred of Ren, could they have had the same easy conversations? Could they speak like that in the future?

Ren seemed to be hinting that they could.

When Hux didn’t respond, Ren put the wig and glasses on and walked to the door. “If you don’t want me to destroy your door with the Force, you’ll need to take off the deadlock.”

That broke through Hux’s stupor and he walked over to the door with as much calm and authority as he could. Hux didn’t know what he thought of Ren’s confession—not yet—but he did know that he didn’t want Ren to leave like this.

He placed his hand by the door lock, but didn’t immediately release it. “For what it’s worth, I enjoyed speaking with you, too.”

Ren’s smile was so bright it was blinding. “Maybe we can talk again. Only, without the wig.”

“Your real hair is much better,” Hux grudgingly admitted as he released the deadlock. Damn, he could still smell himself on Ren. “Maybe we could also—”

Hux didn’t get chance to finish his sentence because Ren’s lips were on his. Before he knew what was happening, Ren had pushed him against the door and was grinding their hips together. Hux whined low in his throat—he wanted this, this power and passion that always burned through everything Kylo Ren did. 

Next time.

Ren pulled away, leaving Hux gasping for air. “Let me know when you need something repairing, General.”

With that, he was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> You can find me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/rosensilence)


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